Deborah Barfield Berry

Clarion-Ledger Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — National and local civil rights groups are worried about the Justice Department's plan to send fewer federal observers to watch for election irregularities in states, including many in the South.

“We’re gravely concerned about what’s going to happen on Election Day ... without the eyes and ears of the federal government in place,’’ said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch recently announced the Justice Department will send fewer federal election observers this fall. The change is one of several in the wake of a 2013 Supreme Court decision — Shelby County v. Holder — that threw out a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

The provision determined which states and other jurisdictions with a history of voter discrimination had to obtain "pre-clearance" from federal officials before making any election changes. Most of the states were in the South, including Louisiana and Mississippi. This will be the first presidential election without the provision.

“Unfortunately, our use of observers is largely tied to the pre-clearance coverage formula that the Supreme Court found to be unconstitutional in Shelby County and so our ability to deploy them has been severely curtailed,’’ Lynch said in July remarks to the League of United Latin American Citizens. “Rest assured we will continue to monitor elections to the extent that we can, but because of Shelby County, we will be sending out fewer people with fewer capabilities this November.’’

In 2012, the agency sent 780 observers and staffers to 51 jurisdictions in 23 states. Federal observers were sent to East Carroll Parish in Louisiana and Panola County in Mississippi.

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Justice officials say they will still send some observers, particularly to jurisdictions under court orders. But in the past, most observers were sent to jurisdictions that required pre-clearance.

It is not clear how many observers will be deployed this fall. Those numbers are not released until close to Election Day, Nov. 8.

Clarke called the agency's decision a “very significant game changer.’’

“We should be sounding an alarm about this,’’ she said.

Republicans and some state election officials argue the pre-clearance provision is outdated and no longer needed.

Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said the agency's decision to send fewer observers won’t make a difference in his state. “The fact that they’re not coming doesn’t bother me,’’ he said.

Hosemann, a Republican, said the state has its own trained workers to monitor elections and during a presidential election they are deployed to 30 to 40 counties. The monitors are strategically placed across the state so they can be dispatched quickly to sites with problems, he said.

“Within 30 minutes I can have somebody from my office standing there,’’ he said.

Hosemann said in the past he has repeatedly asked Justice Department officials for reports of problems in Mississippi, but "never received one.’’

In some cases, he said, federal and state observers would be at the same polling site. “I thought it was a total waste of time and money and then they didn’t talk to us,’’ he said. “They gave me no report and they gave the states no input. So why were they here?’’

Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler said his agency has stepped up efforts to ensure elections go smoothly, including implementing online voter registration and launching an elections app.

"We are as prepared for this election as we are for each election, and it will be honest and fair on my watch,” Schedler, a Republican and former president of the National Association of Secretaries of State, said in a statement.

With less than six weeks until Election Day, Civil rights groups and Democratic lawmakers are pushing Congress to restore the provision.

“What this underscores is the need for Congress to get back to work and restore the Voting Rights Act,’’ Clarke said. “It is just an illustration of more of the fallout we’re facing in the wake of the Shelby decision.’’

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition of 200 groups, recently called on House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin to act on legislation that would restore the provision. Lawmakers are about to recess until after the election.

“We are extremely concerned that there will be widespread voter discrimination in the upcoming presidential election,’’ the group wrote Sept. 13. “This is exacerbated by the fact that there will be no DOJ (Department of Justice) observers holding jurisdictions accountable.’’

Some state groups plan to deploy their own monitors.

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In Mississippi, the state NAACP has set up an “Election Protection’’ program to monitor election concerns. The group will also send monitors to precincts across the state, much like it did in the 2014 Senate race.

“During an important election cycle like this presidential election, the Department of Justice should take a more aggressive role in ensuring the integrity of the process,’’ said Derrick Johnson, president of the Mississippi NAACP. “The right to vote is sacred in any democracy and considering the states’ most recent activities across the country in suppressing that right — one would think the federal government would step up its efforts.’’

Contact Deborah Barfield Berry at dberry@gannett.com. Twitter: @dberrygannett