[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11372-11373]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       VOTER ID SUPPRESSION LAWS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Brown) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from 
Virginia, Bobby Scott.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I rise today in opposition to an unfortunate 
trend that seems to be creeping up all over the country: laws requiring 
voters to show some form of photo ID before voting. Currently, 29 
States have laws on the books requiring all voters to show some form of 
identification before voting, and many of these require a photo ID.
  Now, my home State of Virginia requires voter identification or a 
signature on an affirmation of identity form, which is a much better 
process.

                              {time}  1030

  This year, many other State legislatures are considering measures 
that would require voters to have an actual identification. While voter 
ID may seem like a good way to keep voter fraud at a minimum, this type 
of requirement has serious unintended consequences.
  Mr. Speaker, requiring a photo ID will make it a little bit more 
difficult for some voters to exercise their right to vote. We should 
particularly be concerned that provisions like these have a disparate 
impact on minorities. One nationwide study of voting-age citizens found 
that African Americans are more than three times as likely as others to 
lack a government-issued photo ID. And these laws have unintended 
consequences, such as the situation where nuns were denied the right to 
vote because they couldn't produce a photo ID, even though they were 
personally known to the election officials.
  It's obvious that voter ID laws will not prevent people from voting, 
but it creates another little barrier that will mean that a few 
potential voters will not get their paperwork in on time and will miss 
the voter registration deadlines. These few voters could make the 
difference in an election.
  Mr. Speaker, these voter ID laws are a solution in search of a 
problem. There's no credible evidence that in-person voter fraud is a 
persistent problem. And the voters who will be denied the opportunity 
to vote under these processes will certainly outnumber any fraudulent 
votes that are prevented. Voting is not an arbitrary, inconsequential 
act.
  Mr. Speaker, it is important that we ensure that every eligible voter 
is given the opportunity to vote free from any unnecessary barriers.
  Ms. BROWN of Florida. I now yield to the gentleman from Georgia, 
Congressman John Lewis, ``Mr. Civil Rights.''
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, the Voting Rights Act made it 
possible for all of our citizens to become participants in the 
democratic process.
  Mr. Speaker, voting rights are under attack in America. There's a 
deliberate and systematic attempt to prevent millions of elderly 
voters, young voters, students, minority, and low-income voters from 
exercising their constitutional right to engage in the democratic 
process. Voter ID laws are becoming all too common.
  But make no mistake: Voter ID laws are a poll tax. People who 
struggle to pay for basic necessities cannot afford a voter ID.
  The right to vote is precious and almost sacred and one of the most 
important blessings of our democracy. Today we must be strong in 
protecting that blessing. We should be making it easy, simple, and 
convenient for people to vote.

[[Page 11373]]

  Before the Voting Rights Act of 1965, people stood in unmovable 
lines. Sometimes people were asked to count the number of bubbles in a 
bar of soap, the number of jelly beans in a jar. People were asked to 
pass a so-called literacy test. Lawyers, doctors, teachers, and college 
professors flunked the so-called literacy test. Before the passage of 
the Voting Rights Act of 1965 46 years ago, many people were jailed, 
beaten, and some were even killed for trying to register and vote.
  We must not step backward toward another dark period in our history. 
The vote is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have in a democratic 
society. We must fight back. We must speak up and speak out. We must 
never, ever go back.
  We will not stand idly by while millions of Americans are denied 
their right to participate in the democratic process.

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