[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16817]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           VOTER SUPPRESSION

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, November 4, 2011

  Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I was unable to share the 
following remarks for the Special Order organized by Congresswoman 
Marcia Fudge on voter suppression on the night of Tuesday, November 1, 
2011:
  Let me thank Congresswoman Fudge for her leadership in protecting our 
democracy and the bedrock of our country: the right to vote.
  We are here tonight to sound the alarm because make no mistake about 
it: the fundamental right to vote, which is at the heart of our 
democracy, is under attack.
  Republican legislators and governors are proposing partisan laws that 
require voters to show a government-approved photo ID before voting.
  I came to this floor after the stolen Presidential election in 
Florida and Ohio to protest the results of those two elections that 
were filled with voter suppression.
  It worked for the Republicans before, and so legislators in 42 states 
in our map of shame have doubled-down on these strategies to make it 
harder for certain communities to vote.
  These proposals would disenfranchise 21 million Americans, over one-
in-ten eligible voters in America, who do not have adequate 
identifications.
  It is no coincidence that a disproportionate number of these affected 
voters come from communities of color, as well as the poor, the 
elderly, and students.
  Fully one in four otherwise qualified African Americans would be 
unable to vote under these voter-ID laws.
  In my home state of California, a Voter ID bill was introduced to 
suppress voter participation. It would cost $26 just to get the 
required documents to qualify for a government issued ID.
  This certainly looks like a poll tax to me, which those of us from 
the South know and remember is a way to prevent African Americans from 
voting.
  These voter ID laws have a partisan agenda, seeking to disenfranchise 
and deny specific populations of voters before they have the 
opportunity to elect their representatives in government.
  These partisan laws are shameful and a disgrace to our country.
  If these Republican lawmakers were truly concerned with fighting 
voter fraud, they would take on actual, documented problems such as 
distributing fliers with false information meant to trick voters, 
improperly purging voters, or tampering with election equipment and 
forms.
  Instead, they are pushing laws designed to change election outcomes 
by reducing voting, repressing turnout, and regressing us backwards in 
history.
  We will continue to press the Justice Department for a vigilant and 
aggressive investigation to protect the civil rights and the voting 
rights of Americans.
  We cannot and must not allow our democracy to be undermined.
  We must unmask these shameful attempts to disenfranchise voters.
  Let's stop these partisan efforts that strike at the core of our 
democracy.
  Let's win this war against voters.
  We are better than that!
  I thank my colleagues for their calls to protect the right to vote 
for all citizens across this nation.

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