(MEDIA GENERAL) – Amid concern among voting rights advocates over possible voter suppression at the polls this Election Day, voters can now view issues in real time on one map.
Using data from Google, Electionland’s live map shows long wait times and voting machine issues, among other issues, which can be tracked by state and county.
This year marks the first presidential election since Shelby County v. Holder was passed by the Supreme Court in 2013. The ruling took away power from the Department of Justice to monitor election law in areas with histories of voting discrimination and previously granted by the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
“Just as buildings in California have a greater need to be earthquake proofed, places where there is greater racial polarization in voting have a greater need for prophylactic measures to prevent purposeful race discrimination,” Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg commented after the ruling.
Since the start of early voting, allegations of voter intimidation, improper voter ID practices and long lines have been reported across the country.
In recent months, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump encouraged his supporters to monitor polling stations for voter fraud claiming the election was “rigged” against him.
Voting rights advocates expressed concerns over voter suppression and state Democratic parties filed voter intimidation lawsuits against the Trump campaign in six states — Arizona, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Ohio, Michigan, and New Jersey.
A recent report by the Leadership Conference Education Fund found that counties once protected by the Voting Rights Acts closed over 868 polling places before the 2016 election. Fourteen states are operating under new voting restrictions, including voter ID requirements.
On Monday, the DOJ announced it was deploying over 500 election monitors to 67 counties in 28 states due to reports of voter suppression.