The U.S. Attorneys for Alabama’s Southern, Middle, and Northern Districts announced coordinated efforts “to protect the integrity of the election process,” and “address election-related concerns,” ahead of the November 5, 2024 general election with the appointment of Assistant U.S. Attorneys as “District Election Officers” (DEOs).
The U.S. Attorneys for each district, Sean P. Costello, Kevin Davidson, and Prim F. Escalona, appointed Assistant U.S. Attorneys as DEOs to oversee election-related complaints, including potential violations of voting rights, election fraud, and threats to election workers, as part of the DOJ’s nationwide “Election Day Program.”
Assistant U.S. Attorneys John P. Hutchins, III, Jason Cheek, and an unnamed attorney for the Southern, Northern, and Middle Districts of Alabama, respectively, will manage complaints throughout the state. The DEOs report to the U.S. Justice Department headquarters in Washington.
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Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, which was redrawn by a federal court ruling, now spans from Montgomery to Mobile and encompasses several Black Belt counties. Republican Caroleene Dobson and Democrat Shomari Figures are competing for a district that could determine control of the U.S. House of Representatives. It was redrawn to include a 48.7% Black voting-age population to comply with the Voting Rights Act, systematically benefitting the Democratic nominee.
Figures, who has campaigned on his extensive tenure in Washington, worked as a senior aide to two U.S. Attorney Generals, Loretta Lynch and Merrick Garland. Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is campaigning for Figures today in Mobile.
According to the DOJ, special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will be on duty nationwide to investigate complaints of voter suppression, intimidation, or fraud.
Grayson Everett is the state and political editor for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270
