FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CRT

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2006 (202) 514-2007

WWW.USDOJ.GOV TDD (202) 514-1888

Justice Department Agreement will

Help Protect Rights of Military
and Overseas Citizens to Vote in 2006
Federal Primary Elections in
Connecticut
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced that it has reached an
agreement with Connecticut officials to help ensure that military and overseas
voters have an opportunity to participate fully in the state’s Aug. 8, 2006, federal
primary election.

The agreement, which was filed contemporaneously with a lawsuit by the Civil
Rights Division, creates emergency procedures for next week’s primary to ensure
eligible military and overseas voters have sufficient time to cast and return their
ballots and to have their ballots counted.

“Our brave military servicemembers and citizens abroad certainly have earned the
right to participate in our elections,” said Wan J. Kim, Assistant Attorney General
for the Civil Rights Division. “I am pleased that state officials in Connecticut have
agreed to measures that will allow their votes to count for the August 8, 2006
primary -- as well as pledging to work with the Department to ensure that goal for
all future elections.”

The lawsuit was necessary because election officials in many towns failed to mail
requested absentee ballots to Connecticut’s military and overseas citizens in
sufficient time for them to vote in the federal primary election. "While it may take
special effort and coordination to send ballots to Americans living and serving
overseas, it is an effort that must not be ignored," U.S. Attorney Kevin J. O'Connor
stated. "Today's filing in U.S. District Court shows that the federal government is
prepared to act when election officials fail in their responsibility to give every
eligible voter access to our democratic process."

The agreement, which was approved by the federal district court in New Haven
today, allows eligible military and overseas voters who did not receive an absentee
ballot to download and return a Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot, provides extra
time for the receipt, and requires counting of ballots and media publicity regarding
these provisions.

The lawsuit was brought under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee
Voting Act (UOCAVA), which requires states to allow uniformed services voters
and other overseas citizens to register to vote and vote absentee for all elections for
federal office. The Justice Department has brought numerous suits under UOCAVA
to ensure that voters are not deprived of an opportunity to vote due to late mailing
of absentee ballots by election officials. In 2004, the Department obtained
emergency orders in Pennsylvania and Georgia to remedy similar late mailing
problems. Both states have since adopted remedial legislation to ensure long-term
UOCAVA compliance and resolve the lawsuits. The Department also recently
remedied structural problems with the primary run-off timetables in Alabama, North
Carolina and South Carolina. After suit was filed, North Carolina entered into a
voluntary agreement with the Civil Rights Division on an emergency plan to
address the issue for the 2006 primary elections, and Alabama and South Carolina
adopted remedial legislation to resolve these UOCAVA violations.

More information about the UOCAVA and other federal voting laws is available on
the Department of Justice website at
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/misc/activ_uoc.htm. Complaints about
discriminatory voting practices may be reported to the Voting Section of the Justice
Department's Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931.

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