[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 165 (Tuesday, November 1, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1975]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               REGARDING VOTER SUPPRESSION SPECIAL ORDER

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 1, 2011

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
speak out against voter suppression that is happening in my district 
and throughout states all across the country. With the presidential 
elections just one year away on Sunday, it is critical that we bring to 
light this most important issue that is disenfranchising eligible 
voters of select ages and backgrounds.
  The right to vote is one of the fundamental pillars of any 
functioning democracy. In the United States, we use voting as a means 
for the people to select their elected officials at all levels of 
representation. This fact, I believe, is a basic lesson that we have 
all learned in civics class back in elementary school. Yet, recently I 
have begun to think that some of our Republican leaders in government 
have forgotten this simple truth--or worse, have chosen to ignore these 
basic tenets of American democracy.
  Under the guise that it will strengthen the integrity of our 
elections, a number of state legislatures have already taken 
extraordinary steps to exclude the elderly, our youth, minorities, and 
the poor from getting to the polls and casting their ballot through a 
series of regressive voting laws. It is no surprise that since there 
was an unprecedented turnout from all of these groups during the 2008 
presidential election that state governments are only now mobilizing to 
overhaul these laws.
  Nationally, these anti-voting laws are materializing in the form of 
stringent photo ID mandates, inflated proof of citizenship 
requirements, more difficult voter registration, reduced early and 
absentee days, and heightened barriers to reentry for citizens with 
past felony convictions. Seven states have already signed photo ID 
mandates into law, while the other provisions are already enacted or 
being considered by many more.
  In Texas, we have already seen strict voter ID laws passed in the 
State Legislature this year. This law, which requires each voter to 
present a valid government-issued ID regardless if they possess a voter 
registration card and are listed among the voting roles, targets and 
prevents students, the elderly and the poor from exercising their right 
to vote. Additional restrictions on voter registration drives have also 
been signed into state law in order to further prevent minorities and 
others from registering in the first place. According to the Brennan 
Center for Justice, more than 26,000 voters in Texas registered to vote 
via registration drives in 2008 alone. That's at least another 26,000 
voters that we can expect to become disenfranchised this election cycle 
with the passage of these laws.
  These kinds of devious tactics have been used far too many times 
before--and the problem is only getting worse. I cannot help but be 
reminded of the days of Jim Crow, where arbitrary literacy tests and 
unfounded poll taxes were implemented in order to prevent African 
Americans from casting their vote. These kinds of intentional barriers 
to democracy are why the Fifteenth, Nineteenth, Twenty-fourth, and 
Twenty-sixth Amendments are needed. It is why the Voting Rights Act of 
1965 is needed. It is why the Supreme Court has even had to intervene 
with a ruling on poll taxes in Harper V. Virginia Board of Education.
  Yet here we find ourselves again battling the same problem with a 
different disguise. I refuse to accept that these laws seek to address 
existing weaknesses in our election system. In fact, these laws do 
nothing to address the kinds of fraud that were exposed during previous 
elections, such as the purging of entire voter rolls or intentionally 
long wait times during early voting.
  Mr. Speaker, these blatant attempts to disenfranchise select groups 
of voters are not consistent with the democracy that most of us 
envision for this country. I must therefore oppose any attempts by 
anyone to enact and enforce these malicious and dishonest statutes. 
Adopting such regressive and blatantly lopsided voter mandates is a 
massive step in the wrong direction that serves the interests of a 
select few over the demands of the majority.