Federal officials are conducting a cost analysis of a multimillion-dollar program designed to monitor racial discrimination at polling places across the country.
The Office of Personnel Management announced Thursday that it’s working with the Justice Department to determine if the $2.5 million annual price tag for the election observer initiative is warranted and whether changes should be made to the program.
According to OPM officials, the monitoring program only activates when the U.S. attorney general receives a “written meritorious complaint” alleging racial discrimination in voting processes.
The federal oversight program was significantly reduced following a 2013 Supreme Court decision in a case involving Shelby County, Alabama. That ruling eliminated a key section of the Voting Rights Act that previously required states and local governments with histories of racial discrimination to obtain federal permission before modifying their election procedures.
The landmark Voting Rights Act, passed in 1965, represented one of the most important legislative victories of the civil rights era.
Earlier Thursday, CBS News reported that the White House is weighing whether to eliminate funding for the election monitoring program that works to safeguard minority voting rights.
When asked for comment, White House officials directed inquiries to the Justice Department.
A Justice Department representative told CBS News that the agency has no intention of discontinuing its separate election oversight program within the civil rights division.
The OPM confirmed Thursday that federal election observers are currently deployed in three locations operating under court mandates: Union County, New Jersey; Pawtucket, Rhode Island; and two regions in Alaska.
The United States is preparing for midterm elections this November. Republicans, led by President Donald Trump, maintain slim control of both the House and Senate.
Trump has been urging GOP legislators to pursue stricter voting regulations in advance of the upcoming elections.
