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US Justice Department To Monitor Election In San Juan County

The U.S. Justice Department is sending a monitor to watch polls in a southeastern Utah county where Navajo voters form a slim majority.

Tuesday marks the first general election in San Juan County since a federal judge ordered redistricting after finding racially gerrymandered districts illegally minimized the voice of Navajo voters.

The county overlaps with the Navajo Nation whose voters tend to affiliate as Democrats.

The redrawn boundaries give Navajos a majority in two of three commission districts and three of five school board seats.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah and the state elections office have also pledged to send officials to the county to observe.