http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20080624/NEWS/668600185/1010/NEWS03ing cites ‘red tape' in Perry County investigation
By Phillip Rawls The Associated Press
Published: Tuesday, June 24, 2008 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, June 23, 2008 at 11:17 p.m.
the associated press
Alabama Attorney General Troy King discussing allegations of voting irregularities in Perry County at a news conference Monday.
MONTGOMERY | Alabama's attorney general said Monday that the U.S. Department of Justice has become an obstacle to his investigation of voting fraud allegations in Perry County.
Attorney General Troy King criticized the department at a news conference for not immediately providing him with reports from its election monitors in Perry County for the primary election June 3.
'Rather than forthright cooperation, we have become entangled in bureaucratic red tape,' the attorney general said.
The Justice Department says it's also looking at Perry County.
Department spokeswoman Jamie Hais said Monday that 'observer reports are not released to the public or to state officials while a matter is still under review by the department.' She said that is standard practice for the department and is done 'to protect the integrity of the department's election monitoring system.'