[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 168 (Friday, November 4, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2016-E2018]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      VOTER SUPPRESSION IN AMERICA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, November 4, 2011

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my fellow colleagues to 
urge this Congress to protect our access to the ballot, which has come 
under assault in several states across America.
  The strongest sound that exists in a democratic society is the one 
voiced during our elections. However, I am troubled that over 5 million 
Americans are at risk of having their votes suppressed by laws that 
have turned back the clock on significant freedoms and accessibility 
achieved in many states before the 2010 elections.
  Today, I stand in strong opposition to legislative tools that aim to 
repress the most important right to civic engagement and empowerment, 
the right to vote.
  The impact of recent voter suppression laws is spiraling out of 
control, as evidenced by recent current events. For example, a 96-year-
old Tennessee woman was denied a voter ID under Tennessee's new law 
because she was unable to locate her marriage certificate--even though 
she produced everything from a copy of her lease, voter registration 
card, birth certificate and a rent receipt. After voting for over 70 
years in all but two elections, this was the first time her right to 
vote was suppressed.
  Even our Nation's soldiers and war heroes have been disenfranchised 
by some of these new laws. Recently, an 86-year-old World War II 
veteran had to pay for a voter photo ID, even though the state law 
required that the IDs be given free of charge. Another 91-year-old 
woman was reportedly unable to receive her ID because she was 
physically unable to stand in long and crowded lines at the DMV with 
her cane.
  Students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison serve as a microcosm 
of college populations that now face extreme hurdles as their once-
accepted student ID cards no longer qualify as acceptable forms of ID 
in several states. And news of a Florida teacher being unable to 
register several of her students--an act she customarily does every 
year as part of her educational curriculum on civic engagement 
highlights the civil penalties third party registrants face as they 
merely attempt to assist others become part of the political process.
  This suppression is affecting all classes, races, and ages, and we 
owe it to the general public to join in their public outrage against 
these attacks, which threaten to move America backwards to a period in 
our history that was ugly, discriminatory and crippling.
  At the core of all fundamental rights is the right to vote. As voting 
rights experts have noted, the recent stream of laws passed at the 
state level are a reversal of policies--both federal and state--that 
were intended to combat voter disenfranchisement and boost voter 
participation. That is why I sent a letter to the Chairman of the 
Judiciary Committee this week, asking that hearings be held to ensure 
that our federal laws in place to protect access to voting are being 
enforced.
  Ensuring that every veteran, senior citizen, student--whether natural 
born or naturalized--has the right to vote should not be a partisan 
issue. It should be the very purpose of this Congress since it is a 
priority to our democracy. I urge every elected official who is a 
beneficiary of our electoral system, to support the protection of every 
American citizen's right to have access to voting.
         Congress of the United States, House of Representatives, 
           Committee on the Judiciary,
                                 Washington, DC, October 31, 2011.
     Hon. Lamar Smith,
     Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, House of 
         Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Smith: We write to request a hearing to 
     address the wave of recent changes in state voting laws that 
     make it more difficult for Americans to cast a ballot. A 
     recent report released by the Brennan Center for Justice 
     entitled ``Voting Law Changes in 2012'' has concluded that 
     more than 5 million voters could be impacted by the recently 
     enacted legislation. The provisions that present the most 
     serious concerns include:
       Provisions that limit voting by requiring the presentation 
     of photo identification:
       Laws that exclude the most common forms, of identification 
     (e.g., student IDs and Social Security cards), yet offer no 
     alternate identification procedures for eligible voters.
       Changes requiring proof of citizenship as a condition for 
     voter registration:
       Limitations or outright elimination of early voting 
     opportunities.
       Barriers to first time voters such as the elimination of 
     same day registration and limitations on voter mobilization 
     efforts.
       These changes in state voting laws raise serious 
     constitutional concerns under both the Equal Protection 
     Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Fifteenth 
     Amendment. For example, requiring citizens to expend 
     significant funds to obtain a photo

[[Page E2017]]

     ID to vote runs afoul of the prohibition on poll taxes set 
     out by Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections. The Supreme 
     Court in Crawford v. Marion Co. Election Board noted that 
     elderly, persons born out of the state, persons with economic 
     limitations, homeless people, and even people with religious 
     objections to being photographed may be burdened by photo ID 
     laws. We are also concerned that these prohibitions violate 
     the spirit and the letter of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, 
     the Help America Vote Act, and the National Voter 
     Registration Act.
       The Brennan Center Report found that these changes in state 
     election regulations will have a particularly significant 
     impact on minority voters. The report concluded that African 
     American and Hispanic voters were more likely to take 
     advantage of early voting opportunities and register to vote 
     through the types of voter registration drives now curtailed 
     or eliminated by the new laws.
       Most critically, the Report noted that many of the new 
     voter identification laws do not allow voters to present many 
     forms of identification frequently used by minorities, the 
     elderly, and the young. For example, the new Texas law allows 
     for the use of a concealed carry gun permit to vote, but 
     fails to recognize student IDs, Texas Veterans' 
     Administration identification and even Congressional 
     identification. Further, Texas citizens must also spend $22 
     to obtain a birth certificate or up to $145 to obtain a 
     passport to present the documentation necessary to acquire a 
     form of ID required to cast a ballot.
       Numerous examples of the anti-democratic impact of these 
     new laws have already come to our attention. A 96-year-old 
     woman was denied a voter ID under Tennessee's new law even 
     though she has voted in all but two elections over the last 
     70 years and produced a rent receipt, a copy of her lease, 
     her voter registration card, and her birth certificate. 
     Because her birth certificate had her maiden name, Dorothy 
     Alexander, rather than her married name, officials demanded 
     her marriage certificate which she did not have. Another 91-
     year-old woman in Tennessee was unable to receive her ID 
     because she was physically unable to stand in the long and 
     crowded lines at the DMV with her cane. Two days ago, we 
     learned of an 80-year-old United States veteran and retired 
     print shop worker who had to pay for a voter photo ID. A 
     young voting age citizen seeking a free ID in Wisconsin was 
     questioned by a Wisconsin DMV employee about how much money 
     he had in his bank account and how much activity his bank 
     account experienced. It has also been reported that in 
     Wisconsin, the state's DMVs have been charging citizens 
     improperly for an ID because employees were instructed not to 
     clarify for citizens that the ID's were free.
       Assertions that these broad restrictions are needed to 
     counter pervasive voter fraud do not appear to be supported 
     by the evidence. For example, studies have found that only 24 
     people were convicted of, or pled guilty to, illegal voting 
     at the federal level between the two Presidential and 
     Congressional elections leading up to the 2008 elections. 
     Moreover, only 19 instances of ineligible voting were 
     determined at the state level.
       The right to vote is the foundation of all our other 
     rights. In view of the gravity of this situation, we urge you 
     to schedule hearings soon to address an issue so critical to 
     our democracy. As voting rights experts have noted, the 
     recent stream of laws passed at the state level are a 
     reversal of policies--both federal and state--that were 
     intended to combat voter disenfranchisement and boost voter 
     participation. Ensuring the right to vote should not be a 
     partisan issue; rather it is the very linchpin of our 
     democracy.
           Sincerely,
     John Conyers, Jr.,
       Ranking Member, Committee on the Judiciary.
     Jerrold Nadler,
       Ranking Member, Subcommittee on the Constitution.

       Brennan Center for Justice, New York University School Law


                  OVERVIEW: VOTING LAW CHANGES IN 2012

       A shift that could change the electoral landscape is 
     underway--the tightening of restrictions on who can vote and 
     how Americans can vote. Going into the 2012 elections, there 
     will be millions of Americans who will find that since 2008, 
     there are new barriers that could prevent them from voting.


                                SUMMARY

       In the first three quarters of 2011, state governments 
     across the country have suddenly enacted an array of new laws 
     and policies making it harder to vote. Some states require 
     voters to show government-issued photo identification, often 
     of a type that as many as one in ten voters do not have. 
     Other states have 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 past criminal convictions but who are now taxpaying 
     members of the community. Still others made it much more 
     difficult for citizens to register to vote, a prerequisite 
     for voting.
       These new restrictions fall most heavily on young, 
     minority, and low-income voters, as well as on voters with 
     disabilities. This wave of changes may sharply tilt the 
     political terrain for the 2012 election. Already 19 new laws 
     and two new executive actions are in place. At least 42 bills 
     are still pending, and at least 68 more were introduced but 
     failed. Already, it is clear that:
       These new laws could make it significantly harder for more 
     than five million eligible voters to cast ballots in 2012.
       The states that have already cut back on voting rights will 
     provide 171 electoral votes in 2012--63 percent of the 270 
     needed to win the presidency.
       Of the 12 likely battleground states, as assessed by an 
     August Los Angeles Times analysis of Gallup polling, five 
     have already cut back on voting rights (and may pass 
     additional restrictive legislation), and two more are 
     currently considering new restrictions.
       States have changed their laws so rapidly that no single 
     analysis has assessed the overall impact. It is too early to 
     exactly quantify how the changes will impact voter turnout, 
     but we know they will be a hindrance to many voters at a time 
     when the United States continues to turn out less than two 
     thirds of its eligible citizens in presidential elections and 
     less than half in midterm elections.
       Read the full report, Voting Law Changes in 2012, by the 
     Brennan Center's Wendy R. Weiser and Lawrence Norden.


                  MORE THAN 5 MILLION VOTERS IMPACTED?

       We estimate more than 5 million voters could be affected by 
     the new laws, based on six key numbers.
       1. 3.2 million voters affected by new photo ID laws. New 
     photo ID laws for voting will be in effect for the 2012 
     election in five states (Kansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, 
     Texas, Wisconsin), which have a combined citizen voting age 
     population of just under 29 million. 3.2 million (11 percent) 
     of those potential voters do not have state-issued photo ID 
     Rhode Island voters are excluded from this count, because 
     Rhode Island's new law's requirements are significantly less 
     onerous than those in the other states.
       2. 240,000 additional citizens and potential voters 
     affected by new proof of citizenship laws. New proof of 
     citizenship laws will be in effect in three states (Alabama, 
     Kansas, Tennessee), two of which will also have new photo ID 
     laws. Assuming conservatively that those without proof of 
     citizenship overlap substantially with those without state-
     issued photo ID, we excluded those two states. The citizen 
     voting age population in the remaining state (Alabama) is 
     3.43 million; 240,000 (7 percent) of those potential voters 
     do not have documentary proof of citizenship.
       3. 202,000 voters registered in 2008 through voter 
     registration drives that have now been made extremely 
     difficult or impossible under new laws. Two states (Florida 
     and Texas) passed laws restricting voter registration drives, 
     causing all or most of those drives to stop. In 2008, 2.13 
     million voters registered in Florida and, very 
     conservatively, at least 8.24 percent or 176,000 of them did 
     so through drives. At least 501,000 voters registered in 
     Texas, and at least 5.13 percent or 26,000 of them did so via 
     drives.
       4. 60,000 voters registered in 2008 through Election Day 
     voter registration where it has now been repealed. Maine 
     abolished Election Day registration. In 2008, 60,000 Maine 
     citizens registered and voted on Election Day.
       5. One to two million voters who voted in 2008 on days 
     eliminated under new laws rolling back early voting. The 
     early voting period was cut by half or more in three states 
     (Florida, Georgia and Ohio). In 2008, nearly 8 million 
     Americans voted early in these states. An estimated 1 to 2 
     million voted on days eliminated by these new laws.
       6. At least 100,000 disenfranchised citizens who might have 
     regained voting rights by 2012. Two states (Florida and Iowa) 
     made it substantially more difficult or impossible for people 
     with past felony convictions to get their voting rights 
     restored. Up to one million people in Florida could have 
     benefited from the prior practice based on the rates of 
     restoration in Florida under the prior policy, 100,000 
     citizens likely would have gotten their rights restored by 
     2012. Other voting restrictions passed this year that are not 
     included in this estimate.


                          THE WAVE OF NEW LAWS

       Photo ID laws. At least thirty-four states introduced 
     legislation that would require voters to show photo 
     identification in order to vote. Photo ID bills were signed 
     into law in seven states: Alabama, Kansas, Rhode Island, 
     South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin. By contrast, 
     before the 2011 legislative session, only two states had ever 
     imposed strict photo ID requirements. The number of states 
     with laws requiring voters to show government-issued photo 
     identification has quadrupled in 2011. To put this into 
     context, 11 percent of American citizens do not possess a 
     government-issued photo ID; that is over 21 million citizens.
       Proof of citizenship laws. At least twelve states 
     introduced legislation that would require proof of 
     citizenship, such as a birth certificate, to register or 
     vote. Proof of citizenship laws passed in Alabama, Kansas, 
     and Tennessee. Previously, only two states had passed proof 
     of citizenship laws, and only one had put such a requirement 
     in effect. The number of states with such a requirement has 
     more than doubled.
       Making voter registration harder. At least thirteen states 
     introduced bills to end highly popular Election Day and same-
     day voter registration, limit voter registration mobilization 
     efforts, and reduce other registration opportunities: Maine 
     passed a law eliminating Election Day registration, and Ohio

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     ended its weeklong period of same-day voter registration. 
     Florida, Illinois and Texas passed laws restricting voter 
     registration drives, and Florida and Wisconsin passed laws 
     making it more difficult for people who move to stay 
     registered and vote.
       Reducing early and absentee days. At least nine states 
     introduced bills to reduce their early voting periods, and 
     four tried to reduce absentee voting opportunities. Florida, 
     Georgia, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia succeeded in 
     enacting bills reducing early voting.
       Making it harder to restore voting rights. Two states--
     Florida and Iowa--reversed prior executive actions that made 
     it easier for citizens with past felony convictions to 
     restore their voting rights, affecting hundreds of thousands 
     of voters. In effect, both states now permanently 
     disenfranchise most citizens with past felony convictions.

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