Justice to monitor Milwaukee elections

• Tweet

WASHINGTON, May 7 (UPI) -- The Justice Department said observers would be in Milwaukee to monitor Tuesday's selection of a Democratic candidate for the gubernatorial recall election.

The Civil Rights Division's monitoring will ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Justice Department said Monday in a release. The act prohibits discrimination in the election process based on race, color or membership in a minority language group, and requires that specified jurisdictions provide language assistance during the election process.

The city of Milwaukee is required to provide assistance in Spanish, the department said.

The winner will square off June 5 against Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, whose decision to strip public employees of most of their bargaining rights triggered the recall movement.