[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 147 (Wednesday, September 28, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1398-E1399]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             VOTING RIGHTS

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. KAREN BASS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 21, 2016

  Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, on May 20, 2016, I was honored as a special 
guest at an event in Monterey Park, California titled ``Protect Your 
Future: Restore the Vote''. The event was organized to help 
constituents gain a better understanding of the negative impact of the 
Supreme Court decision, Shelby County vs. Holder.
  Members from our communities heard expert testimony from the National 
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) regarding the 
devastating impacts of the decision upon the Voting Rights Act. I 
include in the Record the expert testimony of Sean Dugar, Regional 
Director, Region I of the NAACP into the Congressional Record.

  Testimony of Sean Dugar, Regional Director, Region I, Testimony on 
   Behalf of The National Association for the Advancement of Colored 
  People (NAACP) on the Roundtable Discussion ``Protect Your Future: 
                    Restore the Vote''--May 20, 2016

       Good morning, Congresswoman Chu, Congresswoman Roybal-
     Allard, Congresswoman Sanchez, and distinguished guests and 
     friends. Thank you so very much for inviting me here to 
     discuss fully restoring and protecting the right to vote. I 
     appreciate the opportunity to provide you with the thoughts 
     and opinions of the NAACP on this very important issue.
       Founded more than 107 years ago, in February of 1909, the 
     National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 
     the NAACP, is our nation's oldest, largest, and most widely-
     recognized grassroots-based civil rights organization. We 
     currently have more than 1,200 active membership units across 
     the nation, with members in every one of the 50 states as 
     well as units on overseas military bases. In addition to our 
     community based adult units, we also have youth and college 
     units in hundreds of communities and schools including 
     colleges and university campuses across the country as well 
     as units in prisons.
       My name is Sean Dugar, and I am the regional field director 
     for the NAACP for Region I. The NAACP divides the country 
     into seven regions, and Region I is the western-most region: 
     it is comprised of Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, 
     Oregon, Utah, Washington, and of course, California. I am a 
     national staff person, and I come to you today on behalf of 
     the national NAACP. In preparing this testimony, I consulted 
     with Mr. Hilary Shelton who is the Director of the Washington 
     Bureau and the lead advocate for the NAACP before the federal 
     government. Hilary asked that I tell you all how sorry he is 
     that he cannot be here today and indicated that he would be 
     more than happy to answer any questions you may have which I 
     cannot answer for you.
       The NAACP, a non-profit, non-partisan organization was 
     established with the objective of insuring the educational, 
     political, social, and economic equality of racial and ethnic 
     minorities in our country. The NAACP has as its mission the 
     goal of eliminating race prejudice and removing all barriers 
     of racial discrimination through the democratic process. 
     Voting rights for all eligible Americans, advancing voter 
     participation and the eradication of disenfranchising 
     practices and voter fraud, has been a top priority of the 
     NAACP since our founding. Throughout our more than 107-year 
     history, the NAACP has advocated and worked against such 
     racist and heinous obstacles to full democratic citizenship 
     participation such as America's Jim Crow laws and the Black 
     Codes.
       As such, we were instrumental in the development and 
     enactment of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and its subsequent 
     reauthorizations, the 1992 Motor Voter Law, and the 2002 Help 
     America Vote Act as well as several other key pieces of 
     Federal legislation aimed at ensuring and protecting the 
     rights of all eligible Americans to cast an unfettered vote 
     and be certain that our vote has been counted.
       Tragically, our country, which promotes itself as the 
     beacon of democracy throughout the world, has seen a reversal 
     in the century-old struggle for achieving the goal of ``one 
     person, one vote.'' This reversal has been strategic and 
     multi-faceted and sadly targeted disproportionately at the 
     very people whom I would argue could use a louder, stronger, 
     and more consistent voice among our elected officials. 
     Specifically, a majority of those currently being 
     disenfranchised by these malevolent laws are racial and 
     ethnic minorities, low-income Americans, the elderly, 
     students and women. Whether through bogus photo 
     identification requirements, racially disparate ex-felon 
     disenfranchisement laws, shortened early voting periods, or 
     initiatives making it harder for third parties to register 
     qualified voters, states are abridging the voting rights of 
     millions of Americans.
       Furthermore, with the Supreme Court's misguided, harmful 
     2013 decision in Shelby v. Holder, many of the protections we 
     had begun to appreciate are now threatened. The Voting Rights 
     Act of 1965 (VRA), for which the NAACP was on the frontlines 
     in the struggle to enact, was signed into law to insure that 
     under the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, no one, 
     including federal, state or local governments, may in any way 
     impede people from registering to vote or voting because of 
     their race, ethnicity or other differences. Most provisions 
     in the VRA, and specifically the portions that guarantee that 
     no one may be denied the right to vote because of his or her 
     race or color, are permanent, and as such are not the 
     provisions subject to reauthorization.
       Section 5 of the VRA requires certain states or 
     jurisdictions, which have an established history of laws or 
     policies which result in the disenfranchisement of a group of 
     racial or ethnic minority voters to obtain advance approval 
     or ``preclearance'' from the US Department of Justice or the 
     US District Court in D.C. before they can make any changes to 
     voting practices or procedures. Examples of these changes 
     include any change in the date, time, place, or manner under 
     which an election is held. Federal approval is given to make 
     the proposed change as soon as the state or jurisdiction 
     proves that the proposed change would not abridge the 
     right to vote on account of race or color. Originally, in 
     1965, legislators hoped that within five years the 
     problems would be resolved and there would be no further 
     need for these enforcement-related provisions: however, it 
     proved necessary to extend these protections in 1970, and 
     again in 1975, 1982 and 2006 through the Congressional 
     reauthorization process.
       As a side note, the 2006 reauthorization, which had passed 
     the House by the overwhelming bipartisan vote of 390-33, 
     appeared to be stalled in the Senate, and was being 
     threatened by a number of dangerous amendments. But thousands 
     of delegates and friends of the NAACP who were attending our 
     annual convention in Washington, marched from the convention 
     center to Capitol Hill in support of the reauthorization bill 
     and then went to their Senators' offices with specific 
     demands to pass the reauthorization bill without amendment. I 
     am pleased to report that the bill was passed later that same 
     week, unamended, by a vote of 98 to 0.
       I am relaying this anecdote because the march was driven 
     mostly by our youth and college division, who led the 
     marchers on that incredibly hot July day not only for the 2+ 
     miles to the Hill, but then also on visits with their 
     Senators. It was an instance where the NAACP, and 
     specifically the next generation of NAACPers, made a real 
     difference.
       On June 25, 2013, however, the U.S. Supreme Court issued 
     its decision in the case of Shelby v. Holder in which the 
     Court did not invalidate the principle of preclearance. The 
     Supreme Court did decide, however, that Section 4(b) of the 
     VRA, which establishes the formula that is used to determine 
     which states and jurisdictions must comply with preclearance, 
     is antiquated and thus unconstitutional and can no longer be 
     used. Thus, although Section 5 survives, it is currently not 
     being used and will not be used fully until Congress develops 
     and enacts a new formula to determine which states and 
     jurisdictions should be covered by it.
       The bipartisan Voting Rights Advancement Act, S. 1659/H.R. 
     2867, is sponsored in the U.S. Senate by Senators Patrick 
     Leahy (VT), Lisa Murkowski (AK) and in the U.S. House by 
     Congresswoman Terri Sewell and Congressman John Lewis (GA) on 
     behalf of themselves, the Congressional Black Caucus, the 
     Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and the Congressional Asian 
     and Pacific American Caucus among others. I would like to 
     stop for a minute and express the sincere appreciation of the 
     NAACP to the three legislators here today, Congresswoman Chu, 
     Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, and Congresswoman Sanchez, who 
     are co-sponsors of this important legislation. I would also 
     be remiss if I didn't pass along Hilary Shelton's personal 
     appreciation that they each consistently score an ``A'' on 
     the NAACP's Federal Legislative Report Card.
       This seminal legislation would: modernize the preclearance 
     formula to cover states with an historical pattern of 
     discrimination; ensure that last-minute voting changes won't 
     adversely affect voters; protect voters from the types of 
     voting changes most likely to discriminate against and 
     disenfranchise people of color and language minorities; 
     enhance the ability to apply a preclearance review when 
     needed; expand the effective Federal Observer Program; and 
     improve voting Rights protections for Native Americans and 
     Alaska Natives. Furthermore, this legislation includes all of 
     the priorities necessary for a strong VRA restoration as 
     established by the NAACP National Board of Directors.
       We need to fix the damage to the VRA inflicted by Shelby, 
     and this legislation would repair and strengthen it. Yet the 
     NAACP has consistently, and before Shelby, argued that we 
     need to do more to expand the franchise and get more 
     Americans involved in the electoral system. That is why our 
     Washington Bureau Director asked me again to express our 
     sincere appreciation to the three lawmakers sitting here 
     today for lifting up and sponsoring H.R. 12, the Voter 
     Empowerment Act.
       In a time when numerous states are considering or have 
     already enacted legislation

[[Page E1399]]

     to restrict or suppress voter participation, Congressman John 
     Lewis (GA) and 174 of his colleagues in the U.S. House of 
     Representatives have introduced H.R. 12, the Voter 
     Empowerment Act. This important legislation would expand and 
     protect voters' access to the polls and would increase 
     accountability and integrity among election officials and 
     poll workers. It also would expand eligibility to allow all 
     ex-offenders who have been released from prison to register 
     and vote in federal elections (even those who may still be on 
     probation or parole).
       Specifically, the Voter Empowerment Act would:
       Guarantee early voting--require that every state establish 
     early voting sites that are open at least 15 days prior to a 
     general election day;
       This includes weekends, which many working people may find 
     to be the only time they can get to the polls;
       Require automatic registration--the bill would use modern 
     technology to automatically and permanently register all 
     eligible voters;
       Allow same-day registration throughout the country--H.R. 12 
     would ensure allow voters to register to vote on election day 
     at their polling place;
       Ensure on-line voter registration--the Voter Empowerment 
     Act would ensure that online voter registration is a viable 
     option nationally;
       Outlaw ``voter caging''--makes illegal a practice by which 
     mail is sent to a registered voter's address and, if the mail 
     is returned as ``undeliverable'' or if it is delivered and 
     the voter does not respond, his or her registration is 
     challenged;
       Clarify and strengthen the use of provisional ballots--
     ensures that provisional ballots are counted;
       Make voter intimidation and deception punishable by law--
     with strong and tough penalties so that people who commit 
     these crimes suffer more than just a slap on the wrist, and 
     establish a process for reaching out to misinformed voters 
     with accurate information so they can cast their votes in 
     time;
       Re-enfranchise ex-offenders--H.R. 12 incorporates the 
     provisions of the NAACP-supported ``Democracy Restoration 
     Act'' by allowing ex-offenders, once they are out of prison, 
     the opportunity to register and vote in federal elections 
     without challenges or complication;
       Encourage youth voters--the Voter Empowerment Act requires 
     colleges and universities to offer and encourage voter 
     registration to all students;
       Assure voting by overseas residents--H.R. 12 increases 
     assurances that Americans who may be living overseas, 
     especially those serving our country in the armed services, 
     can cast a valid vote and be assured that their vote was 
     counted.
       In short, we can and should do more to guarantee that the 
     vote to right--the cornerstone of our Constitution and our 
     democracy--is not only protected but made easier. I would 
     again like to commend and thank Congresswoman Chu, 
     Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, and Congresswoman Sanchez for 
     their leadership in this area; please know that Director 
     Shelton and the entire NAACP stand ready to work with you in 
     Washington and here at home, and I look forward to our round 
     table discussion.

                          ____________________