File photo by Jonathan Phillips

The right to vote in this country is under constant scrutiny.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump claims the Nov. 8 elections will be rigged. Democrats are worried about voter intimidation and suppression. The tense atmosphere has prompted the Justice Department to announce its plans to protect the sacred franchise of voting during the upcoming election.

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Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) William Toliver has been appointed as the District Election Officer for the Northern District of Georgia. He will oversee the handling of complaints related to election fraud and voting rights abuses.

He can be reached by calling (404) 581-6001.

“Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted without it being stolen because of fraud,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn said in a press release. “The Department of Justice will act promptly and aggressively to protect the integrity of the election process.”

The Justice Department says its election day program is “long-standing.”

“Federal law protects against such crimes as intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input,” the press release says. “It also contains special protections for the rights of voters and provides that they can vote free from acts that intimidate or harass them. For example, actions of persons designed to interrupt or intimidate voters at polling places by questioning or challenging them, or by photographing or videotaping them, under the pretext that these are actions to uncover illegal voting may violate federal voting rights law. Further, federal law protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice.”

The FBI will have special agents in each field office to handle allegations of election fraud and election abuses. The local field office can be reached at (404) 679-9000.

“Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington, DC by phone at 1-800-253-3931 or (202) 307-2767, by fax at(202) 307-3961, by email to [email protected] or by complaint form at http://www.justice.gov/crt/ complaint/votintake/index.php,” the press release says.

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