BANGOR – The U.S. Justice Department is prepared to ensure that voters’ rights are protected today, according to department officials.

As it has since the 1960s, the department has appointed a local U.S. attorney to accept complaints of voter fraud or discrimination at the polls.

“This has absolutely nothing to do with partisanship and it has everything to do with the responsibility of the Justice Department to protect federal laws,” U.S. Attorney Paula Silsby said Monday.

Silsby announced last week that she appointed Assistant U.S. Attorney James McCarthy to lead the effort at the Bangor office and Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Murphy to serve as the district election officer in the Portland office.

A departmentwide ballot access and voting integrity initiative was approved in October 2002 by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.

“The goals of the initiative are to increase the department’s ability to deter election fraud and discrimination at the polls and to prosecute these offenses whenever and wherever they occur to making voting easier and cheating harder,” Silsby said.

The Election Day Program is intended to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the election process by providing local points of contact within the department where the public can report possible election fraud and voting rights violations while the polls are open on Election Day.

Silsby said she appointed McCarthy for the position because of his previous experience as an election officer. McCarthy was in court on Monday and could not be reached for comment.

McCarthy can be reached today at 945-0373, and Murphy at 771-3224.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation also will have agents available at each field office and resident agency in the district to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses.

The purpose of the local district officer is to screen complaints and send them on to the Federal Bureau of Investigation if necessary, Silsby said.

Residents also can contact the FBI themselves if they feel their complaint merits further investigation.

The FBI can be reached during business hours by the public at:

. Portland – 774-9322

. Augusta – 622-2902

. Bangor – 947-6670

If calling after business hours, the FBI can be reached at (617) 742-5533.

Complaints about ballot access problems or discrimination can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington at (800) 253-3931 or (202) 307-2767.