U.S. Attorney Jim Letten says his office is prepared to respond to complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses during voting hours Tuesday.

The complaints will be handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Irene Gonzales and complaints may be delivered by phone at 504-680-3000.

Letten says reports of criminal activity will be dealth with "promptly and aggressively" by his office, the FBI and the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department.

Federal law protects against such crimes as intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling vote, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input.

It also provides that voters can vote free from acts of intimidation or harrassment. For example, actions of persons designed to interrupt or intimidate voters at polling places by questioning or challenging them, or by photographing or videotaping them, under the pretex that these are actions to uncover illegal voting may violate federal voting rights law.