[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16649]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           VOTER SUPPRESSION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Before I start, Mr. Speaker, let me just take a 
moment to comment about one of the previous speakers this morning, my 
dear friend, Congresswoman Barbara Lee from the State of California.
  Congresswoman Lee has been an advocate for low-income families for as 
long as I can remember; and especially since I first came to Congress 
some 7\1/2\ years ago, she has been tenacious on this issue. I just 
want to publicly thank her for her advocacy. I represent a low-income/
low-wealth district in eastern North Carolina. My district is the 
fourth poorest district in the Nation, so I understand full well the 
challenges that she has confronted, and I thank her so very much.
  Mr. Speaker, I've come to the floor this morning to talk about voter 
suppression--yes, voter suppression--across the country. Republicans 
are tightening the restrictions on who can vote and on how Americans 
can vote. During next year's elections, there will be millions of 
Americans who will find that since 2008 there are now new barriers that 
could prevent them from voting.
  The number of States with laws requiring voters to show government-
issued photo identification has quadrupled. Mr. Speaker, it has 
quadrupled in the last 4 years. Actually, over the last year, it has 
quadrupled. In fact, at least 34 States have now introduced legislation 
that would require voters to show photo identification in order to 
vote. Seven States--Alabama, Kansas, Rhode Island, South Carolina, 
Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin--have already signed photo 
identification bills into law. Before this legislative session, only 
two States had ever imposed strict photo identification. Under the 
guise of eliminating voter fraud, 21 million American citizens, or 11 
percent of Americans, could be prevented from voting--all because they 
do not possess government-issued photo identification.
  Republicans are also seeking to put an end to early voting--a hugely 
popular voting method that is used by millions of Americans. At least 
nine States have introduced bills to reduce their early voting periods. 
Four States have tried to reduce absentee voting opportunities, and two 
States have reversed early reforms. Once again, it has disenfranchised 
thousands of taxpaying citizens who have past criminal convictions 
while a number of other States have made it much more difficult for 
citizens to register to vote. These new restrictions will undoubtedly 
disenfranchise young voters, minority voters, low-income voters, and 
voters with disabilities--all of whom, as we know, traditionally vote 
with the Democratic Party.
  In my home State of North Carolina, Republicans have mounted two 
strong efforts to suppress low-income and African American voters--
House bill 351, for example, a voter ID bill which passed our State 
House and Senate earlier this year. It was vetoed by Governor Beverly 
Perdue, and we thank her for being strong in vetoing that legislation.

                              {time}  1040

  Senate bill 47, which would reduce the early voting period by 1 week, 
eliminates Sunday voting, and eliminates same-day voter registration. 
This bill is currently pending now in our legislature.
  The right to vote, Mr. Speaker, is protected. It is dearly protected 
by more constitutional amendments--the 1st Amendment and the 14th 
Amendment, 15th, 19th, 24th, and even the 26th Amendments--than any 
other right we enjoy as Americans. We must continue to inform our 
constituents that their fundamental right in this democracy is being 
infringed and urge them to fight back against this voter suppression 
epidemic.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, it is obvious to me that any objective 
observer who is looking at this will know the real motive of this 
effort. It is specifically intended to diminish voter participation of 
some in our society who support progressive movements and who support 
the Democratic Party.

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