[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 126 (Thursday, July 26, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1082]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




THE SHELBY V. HOLDER DECISION AND THE RECENT WAVE OF VOTER SUPPRESSION 
                                  LAWS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. TERRI A. SEWELL

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 26, 2018

  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the 
cornerstone of our democracy: our right to vote.
   After the Supreme Court's 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision, 
core aspects of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were invalidated, and 
eligible voters now face new barriers to casting their ballot, 
including many voters in Alabama. Because of the Court decision, many 
states have enacted new voter restrictions. For example, Alabama has 
implemented a photo identification law, which has barred many from 
participating in our elections. Twenty-one million Americans, over 10 
percent of the eligible voting population, do not have a government-
issued ID and, in many states, these Americans are consequently unable 
to vote.
   Senior citizens and the disabled, people who also call my district 
home, have been adversely impacted by the recent wave of voter 
suppression laws. My father was one of these voters, and I witnessed 
firsthand the struggles he faced just to be able to vote for his 
daughter when Alabama's voting law were changed.
   Obtaining a photo ID is no easy task, especially since many 
handicapped individuals have limited mobility. The decrease in the 
number of driver's license offices in Alabama over the past decade has 
worsened this issue. Out of the 10 counties with the highest 
percentages of African-American voters, which constitute a majority of 
my district, eight have lost ID offices. Many polling stations 
throughout the state have also shut down, and at the local level, these 
changes have disproportionately affected area with a large number of 
black voters.
   Mr. Speaker, voting is a right, not a privilege. We should be 
working to make our elections more accessible, not less accessible. As 
the U.S. Representative of Alabama's 7th Congressional District, the 
Civil Rights District of America, I have made it a top priority to 
restore the vote. That is why I have introduced H.R. 2978, the Voting 
Rights Advancement Act. My legislation restores and expands the 
original Voting Rights Act by providing federal oversight of election 
changes in states with a history of voter discrimination.
   The recent wave of voter suppression laws undermines the progress of 
our nation's civil rights trailblazers, from the women of Seneca Falls 
to the marchers in my hometown of Selma. We should not let them down, 
and we should not let our voters down.
   I urge Congress to come together in a bipartisan effort to improve 
access to the ballot and pass H.R. 2978. It is our responsibility to 
uphold what our constituents so rightfully deserve: a government of the 
people, for the people, by the people.

                          ____________________