* 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.