[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14689]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           VOTER SUPPRESSION

  (Ms. SCHAKOWSKY asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, this is Constitution Week, when we 
celebrate our fundamental rights as Americans. Today, one of the most 
cherished rights, the right to vote, is under serious attack.
  Recent efforts to suppress voter participation are designed to 
silence the voice of American voters, especially seniors, people of 
color, the poor, and young adults.
  In Florida, new restrictions on voter registration led the League of 
Women Voters to suspend their efforts until the law was halted by the 
court. Republican legislatures have passed strict voting requirements, 
although Pennsylvania could not provide even one example of voter 
fraud. Even elderly veterans, who risked their lives for our country, 
may be turned away from the polls because they lack the proper IDs. 
Five million Americans could be disenfranchised.
  Anyone who values our Constitution should encourage voting, not erect 
barriers based on false claims of voter fraud.

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