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[Pages H5156-H5157]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
VOTER ID SUPPRESSION LAWS
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from
Florida (Ms. Brown) for 5 minutes.
Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from
Virginia, Bobby Scott.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I rise today in opposition to an unfortunate
trend that seems to be creeping up all over the country: laws requiring
voters to show some form of photo ID before voting. Currently, 29
States have laws on the books requiring all voters to show some form of
identification before voting, and many of these require a photo ID.
Now, my home State of Virginia requires voter identification or a
signature on an affirmation of identity form, which is a much better
process.
{time} 1030
This year, many other State legislatures are considering measures
that would require voters to have an actual identification. While voter
ID may seem like a good way to keep voter fraud at a minimum, this type
of requirement has serious unintended consequences.
Mr. Speaker, requiring a photo ID will make it a little bit more
difficult for some voters to exercise their right to vote. We should
particularly be concerned that provisions like these have a disparate
impact on minorities. One nationwide study of voting-age citizens found
that African Americans are more than three times as likely as others to
lack a government-issued photo ID. And these laws have unintended
consequences, such as the situation where nuns were denied the right to
vote because they couldn't produce a photo ID, even though they were
personally known to the election officials.
It's obvious that voter ID laws will not prevent people from voting,
but it creates another little barrier that will mean that a few
potential voters will not get their paperwork in on time and will miss
the voter registration deadlines. These few voters could make the
difference in an election.
Mr. Speaker, these voter ID laws are a solution in search of a
problem. There's no credible evidence that in-person voter fraud is a
persistent problem. And the voters who will be denied the opportunity
to vote under these processes will certainly outnumber any fraudulent
votes that are prevented. Voting is not an arbitrary, inconsequential
act.
Mr. Speaker, it is important that we ensure that every eligible voter
is given the opportunity to vote free from any unnecessary barriers.
Ms. BROWN of Florida. I now yield to the gentleman from Georgia,
Congressman John Lewis, ``Mr. Civil Rights.''
Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, the Voting Rights Act made it
possible for all of our citizens to become participants in the
democratic process.
Mr. Speaker, voting rights are under attack in America. There's a
deliberate
[[Page H5157]]
and systematic attempt to prevent millions of elderly voters, young
voters, students, minority, and low-income voters from exercising their
constitutional right to engage in the democratic process. Voter ID laws
are becoming all too common.
But make no mistake: Voter ID laws are a poll tax. People who
struggle to pay for basic necessities cannot afford a voter ID.
The right to vote is precious and almost sacred and one of the most
important blessings of our democracy. Today we must be strong in
protecting that blessing. We should be making it easy, simple, and
convenient for people to vote.
Before the Voting Rights Act of 1965, people stood in unmovable
lines. Sometimes people were asked to count the number of bubbles in a
bar of soap, the number of jelly beans in a jar. People were asked to
pass a so-called literacy test. Lawyers, doctors, teachers, and college
professors flunked the so-called literacy test. Before the passage of
the Voting Rights Act of 1965 46 years ago, many people were jailed,
beaten, and some were even killed for trying to register and vote.
We must not step backward toward another dark period in our history.
The vote is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have in a democratic
society. We must fight back. We must speak up and speak out. We must
never, ever go back.
We will not stand idly by while millions of Americans are denied
their right to participate in the democratic process.
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