[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 105 (Thursday, July 14, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1329]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           VOTER SUPPRESSION

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 14, 2011

  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of our 
vibrant, participatory democracy and to speak out against voter 
suppression. I thank my friend and colleague from Ohio, Congresswoman 
Marcia Fudge, for organizing this Special Order to raise the warning 
flag on efforts now under way in many States to erode hard fought voter 
protections.
  In the past generation, public officials of both parties have sought 
to make it easier for Americans to participate in the political 
process. With the expansion of Early Voting, absentee balloting, and 
Election Day Registration, the fundamental right to vote has become 
more accessible for millions of Americans--all while the integrity and 
administration of our electoral system has been improved.
  That progress and our American tradition of ``expanding the 
franchise'' are now under attack. In state houses across the country, 
legislatures have enacted unnecessary and politically-motivated 
restrictions on the right to vote.
  In my home State of Florida, Governor Rick Scott signed a law that 
imposes such high burdens on voter registration drives that the non-
partisan League of Women Voters has been forced to end its registration 
efforts. The same law arbitrarily makes it more difficult for voters 
who moved, to change their addresses at the polls, a process that has 
proven effective in Florida for decades.
  As part of a disturbing national trend, the Florida law also cuts the 
required hours for Early Voting by nearly half, reducing the Early Vote 
period from 14 days down to just 8 days. I know firsthand the value of 
early voting for Florida's large senior population, many of whom have 
difficulty in getting to the polls. Reducing the number of early voting 
days will have a major impact on their ability to participate in our 
democratic process.
  Even though Early Voting allows busy working voters more 
opportunities to reach the polls, legislatures in Ohio, Wisconsin, and 
Georgia have also passed significant cuts to their Early Voting time 
periods.
  An Early Vote reduction was also proposed in North Carolina, but--for 
now--has stalled because it would actually cost taxpayers more dollars 
to restrict Early Voting than to maintain the current system.
  Strict photo identification laws, in which voters would have to show 
a specific type of government-issued photo ID before casting a ballot 
at the polls, were proposed in 36 States. Wisconsin, Texas, Kansas and 
other States passed these unnecessary laws even though 11 percent of 
eligible American voters--approximately 23 million people nationwide--
lack the photo ID these laws demand. Moreover, the Brennan Center for 
Justice has demonstrated that the elderly, racial minorities, and young 
voters all disproportionately lack access to government-issued photo ID 
and will therefore face the highest burdens under newly enacted photo 
ID laws.
  In Maine, the governor signed a bill ending Election Day Registration 
even though 60,000 Mainers registered to vote in 2008 alone. In New 
Hampshire, the legislature actually pushed a bill that would redefine 
``domicile'' in order to prevent students from voting.
  Is this the kind of message to send to young people who want to 
participate in our democracy?
  Restrictions on the right to vote burden all Americans, but they 
especially affect communities of color and other citizens who have 
historically experienced discrimination at the ballot box.
  The nonpartisan group Project Vote has found that African-Americans 
and Latinos are more likely than white voters to register through a 
voter registration drive, meaning that fewer minority Americans will 
have the chance to register and vote in Florida because of these biased 
actions.
  Despite these inequities, State legislatures around the country have 
never justified any rationale for these unnecessary changes except for 
the broadly debunked myth of voter fraud. These efforts to prevent 
eligible Americans from voting will do nothing to improve our electoral 
system, but they will reverse years of bipartisan progress in making 
the right to vote more accessible for every qualified citizen.
  In the face of this assault on the right to vote, I am heartened by 
the commitment of my colleagues and our partners in the civil rights 
community to preserve the right to vote, knock down unnecessary 
barriers to the franchise, and continue to work for the inclusions of 
all eligible Americans in our political process.

                          ____________________