[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 165 (Tuesday, November 1, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H7194-H7200]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CBC HOUR: VOTER IDENTIFICATION LAWS
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 5, 2011, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Fudge) is recognized
for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to speak about voter suppression
bills that are pending or are already signed into law in a number of
States across this land. They have only one true purpose, which is to
disenfranchise eligible voters.
Many of my colleagues will be joining me this evening, and I would
like to begin by yielding to my good friend, Mr. Rush Holt, from the
State of New Jersey.
Mr. HOLT. I thank my friend and colleague from Ohio.
I am pleased to come to the floor tonight to talk about a serious
issue: whether the voice of the people will be heard. As citizens of
this Nation, the voting franchise is not just our constitutional right;
it is the right through which all other rights are secured, our primary
voice in how this country is run. And right now around this Nation,
there are people who are working actively to disenfranchise specific
sectors of our citizenry.
How is this happening? Well, this year, in 38 States, there is
legislation being considered or, in some cases, already approved to
make it more difficult for citizens to register to vote, making it
impossible to vote early, and to require identification that serves to
eliminate or restrict voting for large numbers of people. Restrictions
on voter registration have placed such burdens on groups organizing
community-based voting drives--such as the League of Women Voters--that
several organizations have suspended voter registration drives in some
States due to the onerous nature of the legislation.
Now, if there were a threat of voter fraud as the proponents of these
laws assert, it might make sense, but there is no threat of voter
fraud. Are there rampant cases of impersonation, voting as someone
else? No. Voter fraud is not rampant. There are not numerous cases of
impersonation. There may be isolated instances, sure, of alleged voter
fraud, but to disenfranchise millions of people because there are a few
cases is really contrary to the American system of government.
In 23 States and the District of Columbia that allow voters to show
both photo and nonphoto ID, such as a utility bill or a bank statement,
there is no evidence of voter impersonation, no evidence that fraud is
occurring. It's a phantom menace of fraud that is the basis for a well-
funded movement around the country making it difficult for eligible
voters to cast their votes.
Are photo ID laws prohibitive? Yes, they are. A recent report by the
Brennan Center for Justice of NYU law school concluded that the newly
enacted State laws affecting more than 5 million eligible voters will
disproportionately disenfranchise young, low-income, elderly, and
minority voters. In 2006, the Brennan Center completed a nationwide
survey of voting-age citizens and found that African American voters
are more than three times as likely as Caucasians to lack a government-
issued photo ID.
Restrictions on registration, limits on early voting, and photo ID
requirements at the polls all serve to discourage young, low-income,
minority, and elderly voters from participating in their constitutional
right to vote. Should they reach the polls and successfully cast their
ballot, of course we have to ask whether their vote will be counted
accurately.
In the past, literacy tests and poll taxes were used to selectively
allow certain citizens to vote and to exclude others. Those laws were
and are illegal. We should make sure that they remain illegal in the
21st century. 21st century poll taxes, which, in effect, these
restrictions are, seek to suppress the voices of people who have a
right to vote and whose voices should be recorded because we need their
wisdom at the polls.
Now the motto should be, ``Everyone Counts.'' And there's much to be
said--and we'll say this at another time--about making sure that every
vote that is cast is counted. Election auditing can be used to ensure
that voting errors are minimized, performing a check on the results
recorded by electronic voting machines against a verifiable record,
paper record of the vote.
But tonight we want to talk about the systematic disenfranchising of
people who are citizens, who should be voting, and whom we should want
to vote.
I am pleased that my friend has taken this time tonight, and I am
certainly pleased to join you.
Ms. FUDGE. I thank the gentleman so much for his insight.
I now yield to someone who I know, coming from the State of
Wisconsin, has a great deal of experience in this area, my good friend,
the gentlelady from Wisconsin, Ms. Gwen Moore.
Ms. MOORE. Thank you so much, Representative Fudge, for putting
together this Special Order to talk about voter suppression laws.
I was first elected in 1988; and 2 years after that, in 1990, I began
a career from that point on, up until this very day, fighting against
these voter suppression laws. And the reason that I began my career
that early is because our now-Governor of the State of Wisconsin led
the effort to require voter ID, very strict forms of voter ID, in order
to suppress the votes of certain members, certain populations in the
Wisconsin community. So I am ashamed to announce today, Representative
Fudge, that Wisconsin has joined the map of shame. It is one of seven
States in red here on the map of shame that have very stringent voter
ID laws in order to be able to vote.
Having debated this issue for many years, I know what the basic
arguments for this are, and they're all discredited.
{time} 2020
We have heard such arguments from our Governor, who was then a State
representative, that if you need a voter ID to buy liquor or to buy
medicine or to get a Blockbuster's video, surely you should need a
voter ID for something as important as voting. I think that that is
demonstrably a problem with that line of thinking. There is no more
fundamental right than the right to vote. You don't have the right to
drink liquor, Representative Fudge. You don't have the right to get a
video from Blockbuster. And, shamefully, you don't have a right to
health care. You don't have a right to get a prescription drug. But you
do have a right to vote, so the bar ought to be extremely high to
disenfranchise voters.
Now, we are discouraged on this floor and in this House from
questioning the motivation of people who offer legislation. And in that
same light, I question the motivation of those people who say that we
must have this kind of legislation.
The Wisconsin attorney general's office found that in a 2-year
election fraud task force investigation that
[[Page H7195]]
there were 20 instances of possible voter fraud out of 3 million votes
cast in 2008, the year that President Barack Obama ran, which is 0.0007
percent, and not a single one of these cases would have been prevented
had the person had a voter ID. If it was a felon who had voted, your
driver's license doesn't say ``felon'' on it. There was not a single
case where a photo ID would have prevented these discrepancies. So I
began to wonder about the motives of those who have said that we must
have this law. Who are they trying to disenfranchise?
In the State of Wisconsin, 17 percent of white men and women don't
have this kind of ID; 49 percent of African American women don't have
this kind of ID; 55 percent of all African American males don't have
this kind of ID; 46 percent of Hispanic men don't have this kind of ID;
59 percent of all Hispanic women don't have it; 66 percent of African
American women ages 18 to 24 don't have this ID; and 78 percent of
African American males ages 18 to 24 do not have this kind of ID.
In addition to this, there's a cost to getting the paperwork, the
underlying paperwork to get a photo ID. You have to pay $20 for a
replacement birth certificate, and in some States, you have to have a
photo ID to get a birth certificate. And there are other costs.
In Wisconsin, a place where the largest number of these African
American and Hispanic men and women who don't have this photo ID
reside, there is no Department of Motor Vehicle station, Congresswoman
Fudge, that is open, has evening hours or weekend hours, so the burden
of getting this kind of ID is great.
I do realize that I need to yield back my time, but I just want to
mention that this would also have a terrible impact on our young,
college-age student voting population. This bill would require that
they use a college ID that doesn't exist in the State of Wisconsin.
There have been no moneys provided for the universities, none of which
have this kind of ID to do it, and it would be a terrible burden on our
elderly population who may want to vote absentee and would have to
provide a Xerox copy of a photo ID. So for all those elderly
Wisconsinites who have Xerox machines in their homes, you will be able
to vote absentee from your home.
With that, I thank the gentlelady for yielding and thank you for this
Special Order.
Ms. FUDGE. Thank you so much.
I just want to say both my friend, Congresswoman Moore and my friend,
Congressman Holt, have basically put into context the fact that any
time you have to jump over a hurdle or pay to get something to vote, it
is a poll tax.
I now want to yield to someone from my home who has been an advocate
for voting rights and someone who knows the issues very well because we
are facing them in Ohio, the gentlelady from Ohio, my friend,
Congresswoman Betty Sutton.
Ms. SUTTON. Congresswoman Fudge, I thank you for your leadership. You
have been tremendous in this fight, and it is a fight that
unfortunately we didn't ask for, but we must fight on behalf of the
American people.
There is nothing more important, there is nothing more American than
the right to vote. You know, at a time when government officials from
all levels of government should be focused on getting America back to
work, unfortunately, we are seeing this scourge of voter
disenfranchisement, legislation springing up State to State across this
country, and we've heard a little bit about that already today.
So over the past century, our Nation, as we expanded the franchise
and knocked down all of the barriers that were so hard fought to
increase electoral participation, in 2011 that momentum abruptly
shifted. We've heard here tonight about how State governments across
the country enacted an array of new laws, making it harder to register
to vote in some States, and some States requiring voters to show
government-issued photo identification, often of a type that as many as
1 in 10 voters do not have. Other States, like our State, have passed
laws to cut back on early voting, a hugely popular innovation used by
millions of Americans. Two States reversed earlier reforms and once
again disenfranchised millions who have criminal convictions. But these
new restrictions fall most heavily on a specific population.
These would be insidious. Any attempt to prevent somebody from
exercising their right to vote, of having the voice at the ballot box,
would be insidious, but when you look at these laws, you start to see a
pattern emerging. There is an effort to target voters who appear, who
people think, some people think, may have a tendency to vote for one
party over the other party. So voters who are being perceived as
Democratic voters are being targeted by these laws. And why do I say
that? What is the basis for me saying that? Because we have seen where
these voter ID laws fall most harshly.
We heard from the gentlelady from Wisconsin making the case, but it's
really important. Let me just tell you a couple of examples. In
Tennessee, 96-year-old Dorothy Cooper, a lifelong voter, attempted to
secure the new ID that she would need to vote in the next election.
When she arrived at the DMV, she was turned away because despite having
her birth certificate, current voter registration card, and a copy of
her lease, she did not have a marriage license--she was 96--a marriage
license, to verify the change of name.
In Texas, thanks to a new voter ID law, students may not use their
school-issued photo IDs to vote, and we saw this in Ohio as well, an
effort to try and restrict student IDs as a valid form of
identification to vote.
So in Texas, while Texans who possess concealed weapons permits are
allowed to use their permits to vote, those with student IDs are not.
This justification just seems a little bit arbitrary. And according to
one State representative, it's that: ``Texas, you know, is a big
handgun State so everybody has almost got a concealed handgun license
over 21.'' That was the argument that was given for that distinction.
But the bottom line is this. We are here on the floor tonight because
we have people--we've seen the protests out there. We know that there
are those, and they are holding signs, and they say: ``We are the 99
percent.'' We see the plight that our middle class families are facing
throughout this country, but I think it's worthwhile to bring up that
idea about the 99 percent, and I'll tell you why. Because the reality
is there are those in this country who have a lot of power, and that's
what that 99 percent and the upper 1 percent is about, right? And they
have a lot of voice. You know why? Because they have a lot of money
that they use to make their voice heard. But the truth is, the upper 1
percent that controls so much of the power and so much of the money in
this country still only controls 1 percent of the vote--unless the deck
is stacked.
{time} 2030
And so that 99 percent needs to have access to the voter box, because
that is the place that we are all equal. So I am proud to stand with
you to fight back against these efforts to suppress the vote and to
stand up for democracy--democracy that was fought for and is still
being fought for by our men and women in uniform.
I thank the gentlewoman from Ohio for yielding.
Ms. FUDGE. I thank you. And now you can see why in Ohio we are going
to defeat everything they bring to us that restricts our right to vote.
I would yield to one of my newer colleagues, one who's from a State
where the Voting Rights Act was designed to protect the people of her
State, my colleague from the great State of Alabama, the gentlelady,
Terri Sewell.
Ms. SEWELL. I thank the gentlelady from Ohio for leading this
wonderful Special Order hour, and I rise this evening to express my
concerns about the voter ID legislation being passed in States across
this country. The State of Alabama and other States have passed a law
that requires voters to use a photo to ID to be valid.
Now I believe that these types of voter ID laws are really
implemented in order to discourage and delay full voter participation
in communities across this Nation. It has been alleged by some that
voter ID laws are needed to prevent fraud and protect voters who are
being victimized. Some political pundits have been taking shots at my
own district in Alabama, in particular, alleging blatant voter fraud.
Now I have received numerous feedback from my constituents to the
contrary. In fact, my constituents attest
[[Page H7196]]
that they are offended at the very thought that these voter ID laws are
allegedly about voter protection. The fact is that these voter ID laws
are about voter suppression, not voter protection. These laws are in
search of a problem that does not exist. Between 2002 and 2005, just 24
people were convicted of or pled guilty at the Federal level to illegal
voting.
The reality is that 11 percent of U.S. citizens, or more than 21
million Americans, do not have government-issued photo identification.
Also, as many as 25 percent of all African American citizens of voting
age do not have government-issued photo IDs. Voter ID laws have a
disproportionate and unfair impact on low-income individuals, racial
and ethnic minorities, senior citizens, voters with disabilities and
others. Many of these individuals do not have government-issued ID or
the money to acquire one. It is our obligation as legislators to work
to ensure that all American citizens are given the opportunity to
express their opinions by using the ballot box. The right to vote is
especially sacred in my district where people marched across the Edmund
Pettus Bridge in Selma for the right to vote.
As the daughter of a stroke victim who is now wheelchair-dependent,
it is frightening to think that had this law in Alabama been in effect
during my election, my very own father would not have possessed a valid
photo ID because his driver's license has expired. His struggle is
indicative of the struggles of so many disabled Americans who will be
disproportionately affected by this law. We cannot stand idly by while
citizens across this country are being disenfranchised and discouraged
from exercising their right to vote.
Now let me be clear. Voter fraud should not be tolerated and, if
discovered, should be prosecuted. Voter fraud is a serious crime. A
person who commits voter fraud in a Federal election risks spending 5
years in jail and having to pay a $10,000 fine, and rightfully so.
We can all agree that our current elections system is in need of some
repair. However, the current debate about voter ID and voter fraud
distracts us from the real problems with our elections system. We need
a progressive system that encourages voting through same-day
registration and early voting laws, laws that would make it easier for
citizens to exercise their right to vote. The government should be in
the business of encouraging, not discouraging people from voting.
As Americans, we can do better. And as legislators, we owe it to the
people that we represent to make sure that we do. We cannot compromise
the integrity of our democratic system and reverse the enormous
progress that our country has made by implementing laws that will seek
to discriminate. Now, in protecting my constituents in the Seventh
Congressional District of Alabama and in this Nation, I will continue
to work with my colleagues and Representatives like Congresswoman Fudge
to make sure that we vigilantly ensure that States' voter ID laws
protect and not suppress all voters.
I thank the gentlelady for yielding.
Ms. FUDGE. I thank the gentlelady.
I yield to someone who certainly we all know has been so involved in
voting rights and a person on whose shoulders I stand, the gentleman
from Georgia, Mr. John Lewis.
Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. I want to thank the gentlelady from Ohio for
holding this Special Order. Congresswoman Fudge, thank you very, very
much. You are making a lasting contribution to this discussion, to this
debate.
Voting rights are under attack in America. Quietly, gradually, State
by State, the right to vote that many people died for has been taken
away. Sometime ago, some of us came to this floor, I believe this past
summer, to warn the American people about this dangerous trend. No one,
but no one, seemed to be listening. But today, we can no longer ignore
this trend.
Congressman Holt said just a few moments ago that the Brennan Center
released a report that shows that voting law changes in States across
the country will make it much harder for more than 5 million voters to
exercise their constitutional right to vote. In 2011, we should be
ashamed.
Today, we should be making it easy, simple and convenient to vote.
Instead, we are creating barriers and making it more difficult for
citizens to vote. There's not just one law, but many types of laws that
are disenfranchising millions of voters: voter ID laws, proof of
citizenship laws, barriers to registration, elimination of early and
absentee voting, and making it harder to restore voting rights for
people who have paid their debt to society. These laws are barriers to
an inclusive democracy. They are a disgrace, and they are a shame to
our democracy. We continue to step backwards toward another dark time
in our history.
We cannot separate the dangerous trend across this Nation from our
history and the struggle for the right to vote. Before the passage of
the Voting Rights Act in 1965, not so long ago, it was almost
impossible for some citizens to register and vote. Many were harassed,
jailed, beaten and some were even killed for trying to participate in
the democratic process. In the 1960s, people stood in what I like to
call immovable lines trying to register to vote. People waited day in
and day out, only to be turned away and told that voters were not being
registered on that day.
The same thing is happening today. States are passing laws to
restrict voter registration and are doing away with the same-day voter
registration. There is no reason that we cannot make it easy and
convenient for people to register to vote. Ten years ago, the Carter-
Ford National Task Force on Election Reform called the United States'
registration laws ``among the world's most demanding'' and blamed those
registration laws for low voter turnout. Because of registration
problems, 3 million American citizens tried to vote in the 2008
Presidential election, but they could not vote. And with these new laws
restricting voter registration, the problem would get even worse.
{time} 2040
One of the most dangerous voting changes is the new voter ID
requirements, which are disenfranchising millions of American voters.
Approximately 11 percent of voting-age citizens in the country, or more
than 20 million individuals, do not have a government-issued photo ID.
Today, too many States require a photo ID in order to vote.
Each and every voter ID law is a real threat to voting rights in
America. Make no mistake; these voter ID laws are a poll tax. I know
what I saw during the sixties; I saw a poll tax. And you cannot deny
it; these ID laws are another form of a poll tax. In an economy where
people are already struggling to pay for the most basic necessities,
there are too many citizens who will be unable to afford the fees and
transportation costs involved in getting a government-issued photo ID.
Despite all of the new voter ID laws across the country, there is no
convincing evidence--no evidence at all--that voter fraud is a problem
in our election process. The right to vote is precious, almost sacred,
and one of the most important blessings of our democracy. Today we must
stand up and fight.
The history of the right to vote in America is a history of conflict,
of struggle for that right. Many people died trying to protect that
right. I was beaten and jailed because I stood up for it. For millions
like me, the struggle for the right to vote is not mere history; it is
experience. We should not take a step backward with new poll taxes and
voter ID laws and barriers to voter registration and voter
participation. We must ensure every vote and every voter counts.
The vote is the most powerful, nonviolent tool or instrument we have
in a democratic society. If we allow our power to vote to be taken
away, we will be facing the need for a new movement and a new
nonviolent revolution in America to retake the same ground we won
almost 50 years ago. We must fight back.
Thank you again for giving us a voice, giving us a way to fight back.
Ms. FUDGE. Thank you so much for the history lesson we just received.
As you know, there are many things going on in the State of Ohio, and
that's why I'm joined tonight by another one of my colleagues from the
great State of Ohio, my friend, and someone who as well has fought
very,
[[Page H7197]]
very diligently to make sure that everyone has their right to vote, and
that is Congressman Tim Ryan.
I yield to the Congressman.
Mr. RYAN of Ohio. I thank the gentlelady.
A few weeks ago, we had the opportunity of having Congressman Lewis
in Youngstown and then up into Cleveland. And to sit here and listen to
him talk about it, it's not words on a piece of paper. As he said, it's
not history; it's his experience. And for us in any way, shape, or form
to listen to him and to remember the struggles that a lot of people
went through in order for Americans to have the right to vote--all
Americans to have the right to vote--this seems so petty and so
ridiculous that there would be a movement among a conservative group of
people across the country to literally try to disenfranchise American
citizens.
Now, we all get caught up in the political games, but my goodness
gracious, how far are you going to go? You've got Citizens United that
says you can spend money left and right in corporations, unlimited
funding, and we're seeing it in Ohio now. And then they take this money
and they start pushing initiatives like this one, where you are going
to literally carve out a part of the electorate that doesn't
necessarily vote for your interests because you'll win the game that
way. And so these provisions in Ohio now, we're coming up on an
election on Tuesday, you can't vote in person stopping Friday night,
the weekend before the election. That doesn't make any sense.
Come on, guys. This is not a game. This is an essential right that we
have in the United States of America. And you're going to say, well,
one in four African Americans doesn't have a government ID; let's carve
them out. This fits that category. Oh, if you make under $35,000 a
year, you're twice as likely to not have a government ID; let's put you
over there. If you're a senior citizen, if you're elderly and you don't
drive anymore, you fit into that category, too. All right, let's put
this in 38 different States--or however many--and figure out how we
lock them out of the political process or put barriers up.
This is not right. Come on. These people have served the country,
worked in the country, served in the military, and all of these other
things, contributed, and now you're going to say, well, we're going to
put up a few more barriers for you not to be able to vote. It's not
right.
I'm getting the sense in Ohio and back in my district that people are
really starting to understand that there is a movement to stack the
deck against the working class people to reduce their ability to
participate in the political system, and I'm not making this up. Right
in Ohio, we have a huge initiative right now on Issue 2 that is about
taking collective bargaining rights away from police, fire, teachers,
nurses, and public employees, a bunch of corporate money coming in to
support it. You have this initiative in Ohio to limit people's right to
vote--primarily people who would vote Democratic--national money coming
in to support it; cuts being made to make college more expensive; cuts
being made to mental health and all of the programs that would lift up
these very people.
So I'm happy to join the gentlelady here from Cleveland to say that,
one, I'm thankful for you doing this and, two, the work is not yet
done. And the American people who have no other choice, now they're
taking to the streets. And that may be the only way to get it done,
because you can't compete with the hundreds of millions of dollars that
are being spent on these initiatives, coordinating these initiatives,
and pushing them in States without us, the average folks, trying to
push back a little bit. That's what this is about. And I will guarantee
you, at the end of the day, when you look at the poll results for Issue
2, for example, people are waking up to see that they're trying to
stack the deck against them further, and we're not going to allow that
to happen.
I thank the gentlelady.
Ms. FUDGE. Thank you so much. And I do thank my colleague from Ohio
because we are going to continue to stand together and we're going to
win.
I now yield to the gentleman from Illinois, Congressman Danny Davis.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. I thank the gentlewoman from Ohio not only for
yielding, but for convening this discussion this evening.
I was speaking to a group of young people a couple of days ago, and
they wanted to know why did we think this whole question of voter
suppression was such a big deal. They said, But doesn't everybody have
the right to vote? And of course it was necessary to convey to them
some of the experiences that people like Representative Lewis and
others have had.
All of us recognize, from a historical perspective, the evolution of
the development of our country. Of course when we started, there were
only a few people who actually had the right to vote, and they were the
individuals who made most of the decisions. Ultimately, we fought a
war, and after the war we saw the expansion of opportunity; and yet
there were millions of individuals who were denied the same
opportunities that others had.
People often ask about Southern States. And you don't pick up on any
State, but I remember reading the history of Mississippi, where in 1890
the State of Mississippi devised a system that effectively
disenfranchised most African Americans or blacks who were there and
adopted a system that other States picked up. But you've got to
remember that at that time African Americans made up 58 percent of the
population in the State of Mississippi. They elected delegates, and the
delegates who were elected--134--consisted of 133 white men and one
black, or one African American.
I am afraid--and I wish that it wasn't so--that there are cynical
efforts to manipulate and control and prevent individuals from having
the opportunity to exercise the most important franchise in a free and
democratic society, and that is the right to help make decisions. And
sometimes it's done in so many ways. There's an old saying that if you
fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.
{time} 2050
There are places where the polling places just got changed. People
have been accustomed to voting at the Johnson school, and all of a
sudden they wake up and it's time to vote and they're now voting at the
American Legion Hall. Well, they don't know where the American Legion
Hall is; they just go to the Johnson school. And once they get there,
they can't vote, then they decide that they'll go on to work or do
whatever else it is that they're going to do, and they will miss voting
that day.
Poll taxes sound kind of way out and farfetched. But I actually grew
up in rural America. It is true that I live in Chicago, a magnificent
city, probably the most magnificent city in the United States of
America and many other places throughout the world.
But I grew up in rural Arkansas, and there was a $2 poll tax. My
parents paid a $2 poll tax. Now, the average person who worked in an
agrarian environment at that time, the wages were $4 a day. Four
dollars a day. That's what people earned driving tractors. That's what
they earned chopping cotton. That's what they earned baling hay.
And to take $2 out of $4 that you might earn working a whole day to
go and get registered to vote? Well, that meant, for all practical
purposes, that many of the people, not just African Americans, mind
you, but many of the people who were low-income were not going to
participate because they couldn't afford to pay $2 to register to vote.
And so I join with all of my colleagues who say that this issue is
most important, that we must watch it, keep our eyes and hands on it.
And we have to make sure that even in places like where I live, I can
recall voter suppression during one Presidential election where the
whole idea was simply not to vote. People were not going to vote for a
different political party at the time. But if they didn't vote, that
was the same as voting for the other guy.
So don't fool us. We kind of know what's happening.
I thank you for calling this Special Order.
Ms. FUDGE. Thank you so much, my friend.
I now yield to the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Al Green.
Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Thank you, Representative Fudge. And thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
[[Page H7198]]
Friends, although the faces change, the fight remains the same when
it comes to the black vote. The Emancipation Proclamation didn't do it.
The 13th Amendment didn't do it.
Although the faces change, the fight remains the same. In 1870, the
face was that of President Ulysses S. Grant, and the fight was the 15th
Amendment and the right to vote. It passed. Although it passed, the
faces changed but the fight remained the same because in 1944 it was
the NAACP and a great lawyer, Thurgood Marshall, that took Smith v.
Allwright to the Supreme Court of the United States of America, and
they won that case, which eliminated the white primaries in the State
of Texas, by the way, in Harris County.
The faces changed but the fight remained the same because it was in
1953 that the NAACP had to go back to court to eliminate the white pre-
primaries imposed by the Jaybirds in the State of Texas.
The faces changed but the fight remained the same, because even
though we eliminated the white primaries, the white pre-primaries, in
1965 the faces were those of the marchers at the Edmund Pettus Bridge
on what we now know as Bloody Sunday. They were beaten back to the
church where they started the actual march. The faces of those marchers
happen to include the Honorable John Lewis, Member of Congress.
In 1965, the face was that of LBJ, President of the United States of
America. He had the opportunity and did sign the Voting Rights Act of
1965. The faces changed, but the fight was still the same. We had to
have a Voting Rights Act, notwithstanding all of the amendments to the
Constitution, and notwithstanding Smith v. Allwright and Terry v.
Adams.
In 2006, the faces changed. George Bush, President of the United
States of America, reauthorizes the Voting Rights Act because we still
find that there are cases of invidious discrimination when it comes to
voting in the United States of America.
The faces changed, but in 2011 the fight remains the same. The faces
are those of the 25 percent of African Americans who don't have photo
IDs, the faces of the 18 percent of elderly persons 65 or older who
don't have photo IDs.
The faces have changed consistently, but the fight is still the same.
We still have to fight for this precious right to vote; and this is why
we're here tonight, to make sure that we all understand, and the
message goes out and the clarion call is there to those who would help
us and make sure that on election day we protect the right to vote.
Notwithstanding the fact that the faces have changed, the fight
remains the same.
Ms. FUDGE. Thank you, Congressman Green. And he's right, the fight
remains the same.
I yield now to my classmate and friend from the great State of New
York, Mr. Tonko.
Mr. TONKO. Thank you, Representative Fudge, for bringing us together
this evening on a very important discussion, one that focuses on the
fundamental underpinnings of this democracy, the ability to vote, right
to vote, and encouraging voters to come to the polls.
This sort of effort that is being taken seriously by far too many as
a form of reform is discouraging. This is an attempt, I believe, to
discourage folks from voting across this country, from an effort that
is somewhat presented in this description of going after voter
impersonation fraud which, obviously, is something that everyone would
be concerned about. But the element here is not to do that.
No one can point to this overwhelming evidence that there is this
voter impersonation fraud that gets addressed by this sort of approach.
What we have here is denial. It's a denial that may impact as many as 5
million Americans.
At a time when we should encourage a thoughtful democracy, encourage
participation, this focuses on many who would be disenfranchised. Those
who are of lower socioeconomic strata, those who are persons with
disabilities, the minority community, the elderly community, those are
the targeted forces here. And it is an outright attempt, I believe, to
dissuade those who are eligible from voting.
And if we can move forward and encourage people to vote and spend the
resources that would be required in the individual States to go and
develop this ID system, we could spend those dollars in a better way to
go after fraud in a more targeted fashion.
This, I think, is an underhanded approach to taking the voter
population that currently exists out there, reducing it, and placing a
hardship on people, many of whom do not have IDs. It is suggested that
some 11 percent, or 20 million Americans, don't have those IDs,
government-issued IDs that would be required with the reform effort
that's under way.
So we need to see this for what it is. We need to encourage policy
that will enhance the numbers of those voting and go after fraud in a
very targeted way. This is not the answer.
There is no fundamental proof. There is no proof positive that it
will attack and discourage the voter impersonation fraud out there. It
simply doesn't happen.
Again, Representative Fudge, thank you for leading us in what I think
is an important discussion on far too many situations out there that
are being taken forward in a way that will be counterproductive.
Ms. FUDGE. Thank you, Congressman Tonko. I appreciate it.
Now, the dean of the Ohio delegation, my friend from Ohio,
Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur.
Ms. KAPTUR. I want to thank Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, a leadership
Congresswoman from Ohio, for bringing us together this evening on the
important question of voter suppression. And I would like to say for
the record that the stability of each of our communities and our Nation
rests on the fragile reed of trust, trust of the people, that trust
enshrined in our right to vote, and our obligation to do so.
Today, in fact, we passed a resolution that is stated over the
Speaker's rostrum: ``In God We Trust.'' Yes, trust. And John F. Kennedy
reminded us that here on Earth God's work must truly be our own.
Trying to prevent voter suppression is our work. In Ohio, we see new
forms of voter suppression in the works as we watch the redistricting
process unfold, the districts in which we will run as Members of the
House and Senate in Ohio, whether it's for Congress or our legislature,
Ohio, a home-rule State that values community, that values where people
live. We call it a home-rule State. Where we live matters.
And yet we see in the redistricting what's happened in Ohio, a State
losing population. The population hasn't grown as fast as other States.
Of 88 counties in Ohio, 62 county lines completely violated.
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What does that do? It moves people around in a district that has no
bearing to their community. Hundreds and hundreds of precincts cracked.
You go in to vote, as Congressman Davis said, you think you're in one
precinct, well, gosh, you might even be in the wrong school. Who's
going to let you know, especially if you've lost your job and you
aren't living where you were before?
We see entire towns in Ohio's redistricting that's proposed by the
Republican Party of Ohio hacked apart for no reason, for no sensible
reason. Canton, Ohio, is a shadow of its former self. Akron, Ohio;
Toledo Ohio--the list goes on.
Let me say that voter suppression discourages voters, especially
during this time of economic recession when so many foreclosures have
made it more difficult for people to have a home base.
So I would say to the congresswoman, thank you so much this evening
for giving us this time to prepare us for the elections of 2012 so that
we can in fact prepare to avoid voter suppression in every form that it
existed before and in every new form that is being created today. Thank
you, Congresswoman Fudge, for your leadership on this important issue
of giving every American their full rights so we can restore trust in
the government of the United States.
Ms. FUDGE. Thank you very, very much, Congresswoman Kaptur.
Now, to my friend also from the State of Texas, the gentlelady from
[[Page H7199]]
Texas, Representative Sheila Jackson Lee.
Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. I thank the gentlelady from Ohio for her
leadership after spending some time with her on the floor listening to
the voter suppression occurring in Ohio. I'm grateful for this
opportunity. I want to thank the Whip for his leadership on voting
rights, election rights, for any number of sessions, starting as early
as the election in 2000, when we were brought to confront the issue of
voter improprieties.
Let me first of all say that we are seeing the ugly head of the
suppression of votes rising across America. Forty States have
implemented voter ID laws.
Let me explain to the voters: Voter ID can only respond to voter
impersonation. Statistics will tell you that most voters do not show up
at the polls trying to be somebody else. In addition, most voters will
have a voting card. Now you will suppress those who are elderly,
disabled, young, who do not have a State-issued voter ID.
In my district alone this past weekend, I met a woman who was 97
years old in a wheelchair who had attempted to get her voter ID with a
photograph pursuant to Texas law that she thought was in place now. It
was a difficult challenge. Her relatives went with her, and she could
not get her voter ID. I made a commitment that my office would go with
her because of the extensive requirements and the intimidation and
fear.
But it is also in the State of Texas that we are hearing that many
polling people who are in charge of elections for this November 2011
have confused the precinct judges so much that they have even told them
that the voter ID law will be in place as of November 2011, and it
doesn't go into effect, if it does, until January of 2012--again, to
suppress voters, the elderly and minority voters.
I would encourage and ask the Justice Department to be diligent on
reviewing all of these voter ID laws. Texas is now being reviewed and
it has not been pre-cleared. We ask the Justice Department to declare
that it is in violation of the Voting Rights Act.
Let me say that voting is a precious right. I want everyone to be
able to vote. And it is documented that fraud is very limited in
voting. To eliminate same-day registration, there are no grounds to
suggest that there is fraud that occurs in same-day registration.
From the oppression of those who could not vote because of a poll
tax, because of counting of the jelly beans in a jar, all of that leads
to the oppression that keeps people from voting.
So I stand today on the floor of the House to say we will never give
up the fight. We're going to fight these voter ID laws. We're going to
fight these laws that are going to intimidate our voters. Intimidation,
fear, and oppression will not survive this election of 2011 or 2012. We
are going to stand with you, and the Department of Justice will be
reviewing on behalf of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
I thank you.
Ms. FUDGE. Our Whip has joined us. Before he speaks, I would like to
yield to the gentleman from Georgia, Congressman Hank Johnson.
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. I thank my colleague, Congresswoman Fudge,
for organizing this Special Order, and also my Whip, Steny Hoyer, for
being intimately involved in this.
The right to vote is a fundamental right. And this right is under
attack. It's the Tea Party Republicans that have raised the false
specter of voter fraud at the polls. Study after study documents that
most, if not, all voter fraud occurs during the absentee voter process.
And the Tea Party Republicans have done nothing to alleviate that voter
fraud.
Instead, they've declared open season on in-person voting.
Now, why would they do that? They have the nerve to claim that their
voter ID laws will protect the elections that are allegedly riddled by
fraud. But they're really trying to fix a problem that does not exist.
All across America oppressive voter suppression ID laws are propping
up. My home State of Georgia is one of the States of shame. It has
strict voter ID laws. And earlier this year, more than 30 other States
introduced legislation to require government-issued IDs for voting.
The requirement that all voters present a government-issued photo ID,
or if you live in Texas a concealed carry permit, before being able to
cast a regular ballot will disproportionately disenfranchise minorities
as well as seniors, the disabled, students, and poor people who are
less likely to have or carry a photo ID.
These voter ID laws are a blatant attempt by Tea Party Republicans to
influence the outcome of the upcoming elections, and we cannot let them
get away with it.
We'll fight and fight hard to make sure that all voters eligible to
vote can vote.
I thank my colleague for yielding.
Ms. FUDGE. Thank you so much.
Now, we would have the Whip, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).
Congressman Hoyer is taking the lead on this as well, and we thank you
for being here tonight.
Mr. HOYER. I thank my colleague from Ohio, Congresswoman Fudge.
I'm honored to be on the floor with John Lewis, who came close to
losing his life to make sure that Americans could register and could
vote.
Mr. Speaker, we're a year away from an election, one that will shape
the course of our Nation for years ahead. The choice we make will be
pivotal. And in order to make certain that it reflects the direction
our people want to take, we ought to do everything we can to ensure
that all who have the right to cast a ballot can do so.
{time} 2110
Equal access to the ballot is the most fundamental right we have as
Americans. It is what preserves our democracy and instills confidence
in our system of government. Some of our greatest national struggles
have been over suffrage--from votes for African Americans and women to
votes for the young people who risk their lives for us in uniform. The
right to vote, however, is today, as we have heard by so many, under
threat in a number of States seeking to place obstacles in front of
minorities, low-income families, young people, and seniors seeking to
exercise that basic right to vote.
They claim we need to crack down on an epidemic of voter fraud that
does not exist. There is simply no evidence of any widespread voter
fraud. As many as a quarter of African Americans do not have the
necessary forms of identification now being required by some States.
Data from the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice shows that African
Americans and Latinos make use of early voting at a far higher rate
than other groups, especially opportunities to vote on the Sunday
before election day. At the same time, there has been an assault on
voter registration.
The right to vote does not exist for political expediency. It is a
constitutional right and a moral right for all of our citizens. It is
the pride of America, this American franchise. For that reason, we are
vigorously pursuing ways to protect an American's right to vote by
drawing attention to efforts which attempt to restrict that right. We
will be working closely with the Congressional Black Caucus, the
Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Congressional Asian Pacific American
Caucus, and with voting rights groups across the country. Throughout
our history, Mr. Speaker, Americans have given their lives to protect
the right to vote. It is worth fighting for. It is our fight.
I thank Congresswoman Fudge for her leadership, and I thank all those
who have spoken tonight and will be speaking out every day, every week,
every month to ensure that every American not only has the right to
vote, but does, in fact, have America's willingness to facilitate the
casting of that vote.
Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, let me just close by saying this:
To all of the Governors in all of the States that have passed this
legislation, please understand it is time for you to do the right
thing.
To all of the Secretaries of State and all of the State legislators
who have by design gone out and tried to keep predetermined people from
voting, do the right thing.
Anybody who cares about democracy in this country or who cares about
the reputation of this country and the way that we handle our business,
please know that it is time to do the right thing. If you care about
the generations that follow us, then do the right thing.
[[Page H7200]]
For the veterans who are coming back--who are homeless, who don't
have addresses--for the people who don't drive, for the sick, for the
disabled, for the elderly, for the children, do the right thing.
I would say to all of the people who have been on this floor tonight,
we all understand the gravity of the problem. We are just saying to all
of these States on the map of shame, it is time for them to do the
right thing.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about voter suppression bills
pending or already signed into law in a number of states. They have
only one true purpose--to disenfranchise eligible voters.
This is a clear attempt to prevent certain predetermined segments of
the population from exercising their right to vote. Students, the
elderly, minorities and those for whom English is their second language
are all targets.
Many of the bills, including one that was signed into law in my home
state--Ohio, include the most drastic voting restrictions we have seen
since before the Voting Rights Act.
These bills will not allow address changes at the polls and end
volunteer-run registration drives. Twenty-one million citizens would be
unable to vote because they do not have state-issued photo
identification. We would say good-bye to same-day voter registration
and hello to difficulty casting an absentee ballot.
There is no doubt that there is a concerted voter suppression effort
underway in this nation. In the first three quarters of 2011, nineteen
new restrictive laws and two new executive actions were enacted. At
least forty-two bills are still pending, and at least sixty-eight more
were introduced but failed.
If these bills were to become law, the effects would be catastrophic.
These new laws would make it significantly harder for more than five
million eligible voters to cast ballots in 2012.
Under these pending voter suppression laws, we can only imagine how
many Americans would not have had the opportunity to vote in 2008. The
two-hundred and two thousand voters who registered through voter
registration drives in 2008 would find it extremely difficult or
impossible to register under new laws. The sixty thousand voters who
registered in 2008 through Election Day registration would not have
registered or voted under pending laws.
Think about how many felons had their right to vote restored in 2008.
Many of the pending state bills would make it virtually impossible for
hundreds of thousands of rehabilitated citizens to ever vote again.
These numbers prove that votes will be suppressed in 2012. These laws
are nothing but a ploy to give Republicans a political edge by
suppressing the votes of many who voted Democratic in 2008.
The proponents of these voter suppression bills claim wide-spread
voter fraud. I am here to tell you there is no truth to their
assertion. A statewide study in Ohio found that out of nine million
votes cast, there were only four instances of ineligible persons voting
or attempting to vote in 2002 and 2004.
An investigation of fraud allegations in Wisconsin in 2004 led to the
prosecution of 0.0007 percent of voters. From 2002 to 2005, the Justice
Department found, only five people were convicted for voting multiple
times. Millions of voters cast votes each election. The minimal amount
of voter fraud that occurs does not warrant the restrictive bills that
are moving in the states.
I fought Ohio's voter suppression bill, HB 194. Now voters will cast
their vote to decide whether or not HB 194 will become law. We placed
the peoples' right to vote back into their hands. I also fought Ohio's
voter photo ID legislation. Due to pressure, the Republicans decided to
delay moving forward with the legislation. I will continue to fight to
protect voter's rights across the nation. We cannot be silent.
I urge you to speak out against what we know to be a concerted effort
to suppress votes. People died for our right to vote. People were slain
to create the franchise we enjoy today. I will not let their deaths be
in vain.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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