An internal federal government watchdog’s report on the Voting Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division raises concerns about its enforcement of the law, Rep Bob Goodlatte, R,-Roanoke County, says.

As chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, he said he plans to call a hearing to delve into findings by the Justice Department’s Inspector General.

“The IG report casts significant doubt on the Civil Rights Division staff’s willingness and ability to enforce the voting laws equally, without regard to race, and to enforce all parts of our voting integrity laws,” Goodlatte said.

“ The report also raises serious questions about mismanagement of the Division, significant impediments to its operation, and deep ideological polarization.”

In the report, issued this month, the inspector general’s office said it “did not conclude that substantive enforcement decisions in the Voting Section …  were infected by partisan or racial bias.”

But the report said there is a perception that enforcement of the voting laws has changed with the election results. It said some of that perception was fed by the incidents of polarization, discord, and harassment within the Voting Section.

“The conduct that we discovered and document in this report reflects a disappointing lack of professionalism by some Department employees over an extended period of time, during two administrations, and across various facets of the Voting Section’s operations,” the report said.

The office said it received reports alleging unfair treatment of liberals and of conservatives at various times.

It examined actions of the section under both the Bush and Obama administrations.

You can read the full report here:

http://www.justice.gov/oig/reports/2013/s1303.pdf