SACRAMENTO — Three Monterey County voters filed suit Thursday to stop a June 22 special election to fill the Central Coast state senate seat vacated by new Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado.
The plaintiffs claim elections officials failed to obtain the necessary approval from the U.S. Department of Justice, which monitors election practices in Monterey County and three other California counties under Section 5 of the federal Voting Rights Act. The pre-approval is designed to ensure that any changes in voting procedures don’t hamper the rights of minorities to cast ballots.
