[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 120 (Wednesday, September 29, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H7824-H7825]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
UPCOMING ELECTIONS
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Ms. WATSON. Madam Speaker, last week, a number of members of the
Congressional Black Caucus, myself included, addressed the issue of
upcoming elections, with particular attention going to voter
intimidation, oppression, and suppression. I congratulate the
Congressional Black Caucus, and particularly the leadership of our
chair, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings), for making Americans
aware of this very serious issue.
The sad truth is that in every election since reconstruction, in
every election since the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965, voters, and
particularly African Americans and other minorities, have faced
calculated and determined efforts at intimidation and suppression, both
above and below the Mason-Dixon line, indeed throughout the Nation.
It appears that the upcoming national elections will not break that
pattern. In an article on the op-ed page of Monday's Washington Post,
former President Jimmy Carter states the following: ``The disturbing
fact is that a repetition of the problems of 2000 now seems likely,
even as many other nations are conducting elections that are
internationally certified to be transparent, honest, and fair.''
President Carter cites two significant requirements for free and fair
elections. First, standards that the State of Florida still fails to
meet. The first is a nonpartisan electoral commission or a trusted and
nonpartisan official who will be responsible for organizing and
conducting the electoral process. And the second requirement is
uniformity in voting procedures so that all citizens, regardless of
their social or financial status, have equal assurance that their votes
are cast in this same way and will be tabulated with equal accuracy.
Madam Speaker, as many of my colleagues know, President Carter is not
speaking off the cuff when it comes to election monitoring. The world
renowned Carter Center has monitored more than 50 elections around the
world, many under difficult and dangerous circumstances. When it comes
to certifying that elections are free and fair, the Carter Center is
the gold standard. People listen and they take note.
They listen and take note, it appears, everywhere in the world but
here in the United States.
President Carter is dead-on target in stating that ``It is
unconscionable to perpetuate fraudulent or biased electoral practices
in any nation. It is especially objectionable among our Americans, who
have prided ourselves on setting a global example for pure democracy.''
That is why I introduced House Resolution 793, a sense of Congress
resolution, condemning all efforts to suppress and intimidate voters in
the United States and reaffirming that the right to vote is a
fundamental right of all eligible United States citizens.
{time} 2000
The resolution also urges States to replace decade-old election
machinery with less error-prone equipment before the November 2004
national elections; calls upon all States to institute a moratorium on
the erection of roadblocks or identity checkpoints designed to racially
profile voters on Election Day, and calls upon the Attorney General to
vigorously monitor all credible allegations of voter intimidation and
suppression and to expeditiously prosecute all offenders to the full
extent of the law.
Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 793 is a simple resolution that
reaffirms the most basic right of every American, the right to vote and
have their vote counted. This is not a partisan issue. It is not a
Democrat or Republican issue, and I would note, however, that not one
single Member on the other side of the aisle has cosponsored this
resolution.
Can anyone take comfort in conducting elections under flawed
circumstances that depart from the principles of fair and equal
treatment? Can anyone condone an election that perpetuates fraudulent
or biased electoral practices? I certainly hope that our Nation's noble
experiment in democracy has not.
Madam Speaker, in closing, I want to briefly address another issue of
voter inequity. This past weekend I held a voter awareness workshop in
my congressional district for ex-offenders. It is a model for the rest
of the Nation, and I would hope that we would look to letting ex-
offenders exercise their right to vote after they have served their
time and paid their debt to society.
Last week, a number of members of the Congressional Black Caucus,
myself included, addressed the issue of the upcoming elections, with
particular attention given to voter intimidation, oppression, and
suppression. I congratulate the Congressional Black Caucus, and
particularly the leadership of our Chair, Congressman Elijah Cummings,
for making Americans aware of this very serious issue.
The sad truth is that in every election since Reconstruction, in
every election since the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965, voters--and
particularly African-Americans and other minorities--have faced
calculated and determined efforts at intimidation and suppression, both
above and below the Mason-Dixon Line, indeed throughout the Nation.
It appears that the upcoming national elections will not break that
pattern. In an article on the op-ed page of Monday's Washington Post,
former President Jimmy Carter states the following, and I quote: ``The
disturbing fact is that a repetition of the problems of 2000 now seems
likely, even as many other nations are conducting elections that are
internationally certified to be transparent, honest and fair.''
President Carter cites two significant requirements for free and fair
elections--standards that the State of Florida still fails to meet: The
first is ``a nonpartisan electoral commission or a trusted and
nonpartisan official who will be responsible for organizing and
conducting the electoral process''; and, the second requirement is
``uniformity in voting procedures, so that all citizens, regardless of
their social or financial status, have equal assurance that their votes
are cast in the same way and will be tabulated with equal accuracy.''
Mr. Speaker, as many of you know, President Carter is not speaking
off-the-cuff when it
[[Page H7825]]
comes to election monitoring. The world-renowned Carter Center has
monitored more than 50 elections around the world, many under difficult
and dangerous circumstances. When it comes to certifying that elections
are free and fair, the Carter Center is the gold standard; people
listen and take note.
They listen and take note, it appears, everywhere in the world but
the United States.
President Carter is dead-on target in stating that ``It
is unconscionable to perpetuate fraudulent or biased electoral
practices in any nation. It is especially objectionable among us
Americans, who have prided ourselves on setting a global example for
pure democracy.''
That is why I recently introduced House Resolution 793--a sense of
Congress resolution condemning all efforts to suppress and intimidate
voters in the United States and reaffirming that the right to vote is a
fundamental right of all eligible United States citizens.
The resolution also urges States to replace decade-old election
machinery with less error-prone equipment before the November 2004
national elections; calls upon all States to institute a moratorium on
the erection of roadblocks or identity checkpoints designed to racially
profile voters on election day; and calls upon the Attorney General to
vigorously monitor all credible allegations of voter intimidation and
suppression and to expeditiously prosecute all offenders to the full
extent of the law.
Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 793 is a simple resolution that
reaffirms the most basic right of every American--the right to vote and
have their vote counted. This is not a partisan issue. It is not a
Democrat or Republican issue. I would note, however, that not one
single member on the other side of the aisle has cosponsored the
resolution.
Can anyone take comfort in conducting elections under flawed
circumstances that depart from the principles of fair and equal
treatment? Can anyone condone an election that perpetuates fraudulent
or biased electoral practices? I certainly hope that our Nation's noble
experiment in democracy has not.
Mr. Speaker, in closing, I want to briefly address another issue of
voter inequity. This past weekend I held a voter awareness workshop in
my congressional district for ex-offenders. In many States around the
nation, ex-offenders' right to vote is either restricted or banned.
This week the Sentencing Project released a study showing that African
American men in Atlanta were 11 times more likely than non-African
American to be disenfranchised. Nationwide, an estimated 5 million
Americans are affected by felony voting restrictions. African-American
males account for about 8 percent of the U.S. population and 40 percent
of the prison population.
The high numbers of disenfranchised African American males casts a
pall on voting. Why should any State have the authority to restrict the
right of persons to vote who have paid their debt to society? This is
fundamentally unfair and unjust.
Mr. Speaker, the credibility of our Nation is under attack from
around the world. We cannot afford to witness another election debacle
like the one we experienced in 2000. It is time for the American public
and this body to sit up and take note of a potentially serious crisis
facing the United States.
____________________