[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 15, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E325]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 DOJ'S FAILURE TO PROTECT VOTING RIGHTS

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                          HON. TERRI A. SEWELL

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 15, 2017

  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in protest of 
President Trump and his Justice Department's failure to protect 
Americans' voting rights. The right to vote is a sacred right for which 
Americans have fought for generations. From the battlefields of the 
Revolutionary War, to the Women's Suffrage Movement, to Bloody Sunday 
in my hometown of Selma, Alabama, Americans have risked their lives for 
the right to vote.
   Unfortunately, The Trump Justice Department recently decided to 
dismiss their discriminatory purpose claim against Texas's voter ID 
law. Texas's current draconian Voter ID law places harsh restrictions 
on minorities and young voters. In 2013, the Department of Justice 
filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas claiming that their voter 
photo identification law, SB 14, violated Section 2 of the Voting 
Rights Act. Since then, two courts have agreed that this law is 
discriminatory. So it is incredibly disturbing that the new Department 
of Justice reversed their position and withdrew their lawsuit. This 
action represents a dramatic shift from the Obama Administration's 
policy of protecting Americans' voting rights.
   The American people deserve a Justice Department that values and 
protects the right to vote. New barriers to voting are being erected 
across the country, threatening the integrity of our electoral process 
and our democracy. For example, after the Supreme Court struck down key 
provisions of the Voting Rights Act, many states, like Alabama and 
Texas responded to the Supreme Court's decision by imposing voter ID 
laws similar to those of the Jim Crow era. These laws are blatantly 
discriminatory, undemocratic, and un-American.
   In Alabama, the state government passed a law requiring a photo ID 
to vote while simultaneously closing 34 DMW offices. Doing so had a 
discriminatory effect on 8 out of the 10 counties in Alabama with the 
highest percentage of Black registered voters. Clearly we cannot yet 
trust certain states to protect their citizens' right to vote. As 
Americans, we should all be horrified of these laws and the Department 
of Justice's failure to fight these regressive measures.
   States must not be allowed to return to an era of mass-voter 
discrimination, and historically, it has been the responsibility of the 
Justice Department to protect Americans from new Jim Crow like laws. 
Unfortunately, President Trump's Justice Department seems to be rolling 
back this policy.
   In 2015, I introduced the Voting Rights Advancement Act, legislation 
that would require states with a recent history of voter discrimination 
to seek approval from the U.S. Department of Justice before making any 
changes to their electoral laws. Specifically, this bill will restore 
Section 4(b) of the VRA which the Supreme Court invalidated in Shelby 
County v. Holder. Under the new Trump Administration, it is more 
important than ever that we pass the Voting Rights Advancement Act, and 
have an independent Justice Department that is committed to protecting 
Americans' right to vote.

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