[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12922]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             VOTING RIGHTS

  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, last year our country celebrated the 50th 
anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most important 
pieces of legislation that was passed in the 20th century. It opened 
the door for millions of Americans to exercise their constitutional 
right to vote. But this year will mark the first Presidential election 
in half a century without the full protections guaranteed by that 
landmark law. One of the worst decisions this corporate-dominated 
Supreme Court made was Shelby County v. Holder, which struck down a key 
part of the law, taking the teeth out of provisions that protect voters 
from suppression laws.
  Since that misguided decision, States across the country have passed 
new voting restrictions that would disenfranchise hundreds of thousands 
of Americans. At least 17 States have passed new voting restrictions 
since the Shelby County restriction. We know who is hurt most by these 
laws--African Americans, Latinos, young people, and seniors.
  In North Carolina, before enacting one of these laws, the State 
legislature specifically asked for data on voting patterns by race. 
Once they had this data, they decided to eliminate or limit the voting 
methods used by African-American voters. Thankfully, the Fourth Circuit 
Court struck down this blatant attempt to disenfranchise one group of 
voters, writing: ``The new provisions target African Americans with 
almost surgical precision.''
  In my State of Ohio, the courts have shamefully allowed laws such as 
these to stay on the books. Last week we were dealt multiple blows.
  First, the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal on the Sixth 
Circuit's decision ending ``Golden Week''--created by a Republican 
legislature a decade ago--when voters can register and vote on the same 
day during the 1 week early-voting period. In May, Judge Watson--a 
George W. Bush appointee in the Southern District in Columbus--found 
that the laws limiting early voting and registration would 
disproportionately impact African Americans. Judge Watson did the right 
thing, but the ultraconservative Sixth Circuit ruled to overturn that 
ruling, ending ``Golden Week.'' Last week the Supreme Court nodded 4 to 
4 because the Republican majority leader won't let the Senate do its 
job to have hearings and confirmation on Judge Garland. The Supreme 
Court declined to intervene.
  Then the Sixth Circuit overturned a lower court ruling that had 
thrown out new Ohio laws imposing stricter requirements on absentee and 
provisional voters. Judge Damon Keith's dissent in this case captured 
what these restrictions are really all about. He notes that during the 
committee debate over the law, one legislator asked: ``Should we really 
be making it easier for those people who take the bus after church on 
Sunday to vote?''--making it crystal clear exactly what they were 
targeting and whom they were targeting.
  Judge Keith continues:

       Democracies die behind closed doors.
       Voting is the ultimate expression of self-government. 
     Instead of making it easier for all persons, unrestrained and 
     unfettered, to exercise this fundamental right to vote, 
     legislators are making it harder.
       States are audaciously nullifying a right for which our 
     ancestors relentlessly fought and--in some instances--even 
     tragically died.

  I would point out that only about a decade ago, this body and the 
House overwhelmingly, bipartisanly renewed the Voting Rights Act that 
the Court struck down. Now one political party is digging in in 
opposition to that. It is no secret what these laws are about. State 
legislators have made it perfectly clear.
  In 2008, African Americans voted early in person at a rate more than 
20 times greater than White voters. We all remember the scenes from 
Cuyahoga County, Cleveland, in 2004 when some voters waited as long as 
7 hours to vote. For hourly workers, college students who work a third 
shift, parents who have to drop their children off at school, and many 
others, early voting ensures that their voices will be heard. In 2012, 
10 percent of the electorate--600,000 people--voted early in my State. 
That is 600,000 voices that might not have been heard were it not for 
early voting. But some judges who dress in suits and lead very 
privileged lives with generous benefits from taxpayers have decided 
these voices aren't worth hearing. As Judge Keith said, democracies die 
behind closed doors. This body refuses to hold a hearing on the nominee 
who would have allowed the Supreme Court to hear the appeal on the 
``Golden Week'' issue and issue a real decision.
  This body refuses to bring to the floor the bipartisan Voting Rights 
Advancement Act.
  In 1981, when signing an extension to the Voting Rights Act, 
President Reagan called the right to vote ``the crown jewel of American 
liberties.'' Ronald Reagan would have seen his political party today 
going in exactly the opposite direction, and that is sad.

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