CBC Hour: Voter Identification Laws

Floor Speech

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Ms. SEWELL. I thank the gentlelady from Ohio for leading this wonderful Special Order hour, and I rise this evening to express my concerns about the voter ID legislation being passed in States across this country. The State of Alabama and other States have passed a law that requires voters to use a photo to ID to be valid.

Now I believe that these types of voter ID laws are really implemented in order to discourage and delay full voter participation in communities across this Nation. It has been alleged by some that voter ID laws are needed to prevent fraud and protect voters who are being victimized. Some political pundits have been taking shots at my own district in Alabama, in particular, alleging blatant voter fraud.

Now I have received numerous feedback from my constituents to the contrary. In fact, my constituents attest that they are offended at the very thought that these voter ID laws are allegedly about voter protection. The fact is that these voter ID laws are about voter suppression, not voter protection. These laws are in search of a problem that does not exist. Between 2002 and 2005, just 24 people were convicted of or pled guilty at the Federal level to illegal voting.

The reality is that 11 percent of U.S. citizens, or more than 21 million Americans, do not have government-issued photo identification. Also, as many as 25 percent of all African American citizens of voting age do not have government-issued photo IDs. Voter ID laws have a disproportionate and unfair impact on low-income individuals, racial and ethnic minorities, senior citizens, voters with disabilities and others. Many of these individuals do not have government-issued ID or the money to acquire one. It is our obligation as legislators to work to ensure that all American citizens are given the opportunity to express their opinions by using the ballot box. The right to vote is especially sacred in my district where people marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma for the right to vote.

As the daughter of a stroke victim who is now wheelchair-dependent, it is frightening to think that had this law in Alabama been in effect during my election, my very own father would not have possessed a valid photo ID because his driver's license has expired. His struggle is indicative of the struggles of so many disabled Americans who will be disproportionately affected by this law. We cannot stand idly by while citizens across this country are being disenfranchised and discouraged from exercising their right to vote.

Now let me be clear. Voter fraud should not be tolerated and, if discovered, should be prosecuted. Voter fraud is a serious crime. A person who commits voter fraud in a Federal election risks spending 5 years in jail and having to pay a $10,000 fine, and rightfully so.

We can all agree that our current elections system is in need of some repair. However, the current debate about voter ID and voter fraud distracts us from the real problems with our elections system. We need a progressive system that encourages voting through same-day registration and early voting laws, laws that would make it easier for citizens to exercise their right to vote. The government should be in the business of encouraging, not discouraging people from voting.

As Americans, we can do better. And as legislators, we owe it to the people that we represent to make sure that we do. We cannot compromise the integrity of our democratic system and reverse the enormous progress that our country has made by implementing laws that will seek to discriminate. Now, in protecting my constituents in the Seventh Congressional District of Alabama and in this Nation, I will continue to work with my colleagues and Representatives like Congresswoman Fudge to make sure that we vigilantly ensure that States' voter ID laws protect and not suppress all voters.

I thank the gentlelady for yielding.

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