Justice Department Outsources Voting Rights Hotline

AFJ's Advocacy Digest blog, which covers issues of importance to foundations and nonprofits who engage in advocacy work, published this disturbing story today.

With our country facing its worst economic crisis in decades, American voters need little reason to argue that our federal government has seen a lack of real solutions to some of our most pressing issues.

Yet one issue that remains relatively unknown to many Americans is the fervent battle over voting rights, which has been silently raging between party insiders on both sides of the political spectrum.

Now, with less than four weeks until Election Day, advocates concerned with the growing legal quagmire over voting rights are noticing some serious red flags—the latest of which seems poised to go down in the “what were they thinking?” hall of fame.

According to this ad, it appears the Department of Justice (DOJ) has contracted its Voting Rights Section’s 2008 U.S. Election Hotline to none other than defense contractor Lockheed Martin. For those of you not familiar with this service, the hotline was created for callers to determine registration status, report voter
intimidation and suppression, and to ask general questions about voting procedures and eligibility.

Should Lockheed Martin, which spends roughly $10 million dollars per year lobbying the federal government, and which currently lists as one of its vice-presidents a nominee for a hotly contested congressional race in New Jersey, have the final say over who can and cannot provide guidance to distressed voters on Election Day?

With campaign contributions to over 50 candidates in this election cycle alone from Lockheed Martin, the question remains—where’s the justice in the DOJ?