[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 127 (Wednesday, September 19, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H6072]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           VOTER SUPPRESSION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Reyes) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to try to lend a little 
bit of perspective on a strategy that we have seen evolving across our 
country, and that strategy I think threatens to undermine one of the 
most basic rights and principles that we have as United States 
citizens, and that is the right to vote.
  Unfortunately, in many States--my State included, in Texas--there's a 
strategy to pass what is called a voter identification law, seeking to 
solve a problem that apparently across the country does not exist, and 
that is people voting that don't have that right, and trying to give 
the impression that this problem is prevalent throughout our country.
  As we look back at our history, I think we should all be proud of the 
significant strides in increasing and strengthening the electoral 
process for all. Let's not forget that originally, under our 
Constitution, only white males over the age of 21 were eligible to 
vote. It took several amendments to our Constitution to fully extend 
this right to all minorities--women and young people ages 18 and older.

                              {time}  1210

  But it took us even longer, it appears, given the current situation, 
to live up to these ideals.
  As a child growing up in El Paso on a farm, I can remember my father 
talking to us about that sacred right to participate and to vote.
  Here is a poll tax that was charged for that right back in 1955, made 
out to my dad. Back then it was $1.75. Today, under the current 
strategy, that, the equivalent of this poll tax, could be as much as 
$20, $25, or $30 for an identification card.
  So who does that hurt? Who does that impact the most? It's the 
elderly, it's the young people, and it's minorities.
  And while some people may think, well, $1.75, that wasn't much to pay 
for the right to vote or, today, $20, $25, $30 isn't that much to 
exercise the privilege of voting, the fundamental issue here is that 
that is an inherent right guaranteed by our Constitution.
  But even if we wanted to look at it from an economic standpoint, in 
2012 dollars, here is what that $1.75 poll tax bought back in 1955. A 
gallon of milk was 88 cents; bread, 15 cents; chicken, 44 cents a 
pound; cheese, 45 cents, and so on so that for a man and his spouse, 
paying two poll taxes, it would be $3.50. This is what they would have 
spent that money on, and often did, rather than paying a poll tax of 
$1.75.
  Today, the milk is $1.99; bread is $1.99; chicken, 99 cents a pound; 
cheese, $2.50, to the point to where, for paying one poll tax or one 
identification card, you could get these comparative amounts of 
groceries.
  So the fundamental question we must ask ourselves when people talk 
about taking our country back, when people talk about the right to 
vote, these are the kinds of issues that impact us. These are the kinds 
of things that throughout our history many of us have fought to protect 
the rights of all citizens to participate in the electoral process, 
fundamentally guaranteed under our Constitution.
  While I understand the intent of these laws, it is designed to 
supposedly prevent voter fraud and impersonation, the result affects 
individual participation in the inherent right to vote: requiring an 
ID, and considering the difficulties that citizens face in the process 
of acquiring those State-issued identification cards, which ultimately 
undermines the right to vote.
  This is a serious issue. All of us who teach our children and our 
grandchildren that the most fundamental right to participate is 
protected by our Constitution have to remind them. I know I have talked 
to my children and have shown them this poll tax to remind them that 
freedom is not free, that people must understand their obligations as 
citizens.

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