Posted on 09/20/2006 1:42:32 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 20, 2006
CONTACT: Brendan Daly/Jennifer Crider 202-226-7616 Pelosi: Voter ID Bill Is an Attempt to Suppress the Votes of Millions of American Citizens
Washington, D.C. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi spoke on the House floor this afternoon in opposition to H.R. 4844, the Republican voter suppression bill. Below are Pelosis remarks:
This cannot be. With those words, Judge Jackson Bedford yesterday struck down the infamous Georgia voter photo ID law. Let me repeat: This cannot be. Let these words guide us here, because right here in this House of Representatives, we take an oath to up hold the Constitution of the United States. That Constitution guarantees all America citizens the right to vote and the right for their vote to be counted.
I thank the distinguished the gentlelady from California, Ms. Millender-McDonald, the ranking Democrat on the House Administration Committee, for her leadership on this issue. She has been an important force in protecting the integrity of elections. And that is why it is so sad to see this bill come here to the floor today, especially named the Federal Election Integrity Act. Integrity, its not about integrity. Its about a tawdry attempt by Republicans to suppress the votes of millions of American citizens. That is not integrity.
America is a beacon of democracy to the world. We must continue to send a message to the world that we honor the oath of office that we take to protect and defend the Constitution. Every eligible American citizen must be able to exercise their right to vote, and have their vote counted.
Only a short month and a half ago, many of us here stood proudly on the White House lawn as the Voting Rights Act Reauthorization was signed into law. We overcame many obstacles, even for the reauthorization of that legislation, to affirm the most precious right in our democracy the right to vote.
Today, however, we are undermining that right to vote, and the reauthorization of the VRA. And in doing so, we are undermining our democracy. Though the right to vote is the foundation of our democracy, the bill we debate today would in effect disenfranchise millions of American voters: the elderly, African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, people with disabilities; and the list goes on. As the NAACP has said, this bill would disenfranchise many of the very citizens that the VRA is designed to protect. And the Republicans call that integrity. I dont think so.
A few weeks ago, President Bush spoke before the NAACP for the first time in his presidency. He quoted President Lyndon Johnson in saying that voting rights are the lifeblood of democracy. And here today, after making that great statement, quoting that great civil rights and voting rights President, President Bushs party is here today in a transparent attempt to suppress the votes of millions of American citizens, cutting of the lifeblood of democracy. Is that integrity? I dont think so.
Supporters of this Republican voter suppression bill will claim this bill is about preventing non-citizens from voting. Its just the opposite. Its a bill designed to prevent citizens from voting. Non-citizens are strictly prohibited under law from voting and face tough penalties for breaking these laws, and thats right. No one condones fraud; there is little evidence anywhere in the country of a significant problem with non-citizen voters, as our distinguished Ranking Member pointed out. If you want to make a case, document it. Just dont claim it and then come through with a clear and transparent attempt to cut off the votes of those who dont share your political point of view. You didnt take an oath of office to do that.
As we know from experience, Republican promises to authorize funds for identification are meaningless. We were supposed to have had $800 million allocated to remove obstacles to participation and facilitate voting. But because that would expand the universe of people who have access to the right to vote, the Republicans have rejected it for fear of the result of that turnout. Republicans have a history of underfunding election reform they have underfunded the Help America Vote Act by $800 million. How they can explain that, I dont know. I know one thing: its not about integrity.
Problems with voting that were apparent in the elections of 2000 and 2004 are well-known and of grave concern to the American people. Those elections had uncomfortable echoes to a past that should have been long left behind. In the 2004 elections, voters in predominantly minority districts reported higher rates of inactive voter registrations, a greater percentage of inadequately staffed and equipped polling places, inconsistent treatment of provisional ballots many of which never were counted and sometimes even a lack of an adequate number of ballots. Even with the best intentions, its challenging, as we saw in the state of Maryland last week. But if the design is to thwart voter participation, how much at a disadvantage is the average voter?
Mr. Speaker, 40 years ago, in one of our nations finest hours, our country came together as a nation to overcome bigotry and injustice and to secure the fundamental right to vote. With the passage of the Voting Rights Act, we said that we would no longer tolerate the many nefarious methods poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, and as our colleague John Lewis can attest, brutal violence that had been used to deny African Americans and other minority citizens the right to vote. Today this legislation seeks to turn back the clock. And they call it integrity.
Those of us who take an oath of office I go back to that oath over and over again promise to uphold the Constitution. We commit to ensuring that everyone who is eligible to vote is able to vote, and that every vote is counted. Any diminishment of American citizens voting is a diminishment of our democracy. This cannot be.
The democrat screeching on this shows they are afraid, very afraid, that their vote fraud practices are in danger IMO.
Well, Kimosabe, we should be able to walk into Pelosi's bank, demand $500,000 from her account for work done on her home - without showing ID - and ride off into the sunset.
Hi-yo, Silver, and away. Off to Bali we go...
You have to admit... if your constituency was pre-screened to be somewhat..how do we put it gently??... err... stupid, you would want to have a system that did not require even the slightest amount of brains too.
Republicans are better educated and more capable of registering and voting than Democrats. If it weren't for illegal, un-registered, and busload transport of vagrants to the polls, they would never win an election.
Hey Democrats....Do you fly ever....do you buy a house ever....do you cash a check ever...evr buy insurannce....a car....have you ever DRIVEN???? You NEED a driver's license or OTHER Photo ID for these and many other things!!!
"And I don't care if they have voter-id's in Mexico"
Necro-Americans!!! LOL!! They are the biggest Democrat constituency!!
It is mandated that one has to have ID to buy a gun.
It is mandated that one may be required to show ID to buy cigarettes or alcohol.
It is mandated that one has to show ID to get on an airplane, to drive a car, to get a social security card.
Yet asking for an ID from a voter is somehow considered wrong. Aside from drolling liberals, where does this play? Nowhere. It was (as typical) yet another moronic play by the Democrats.
We require picture I.D. to fly on a plane or to buy a 6 pack of beer, but not to prove you are who you say you are when you vote?? Once again, the Democrats are the party of putting no expectations on Americans and assuming them incapable of rising to a small challenge, i.e. obtaining an I.D., and for maximizing the potential of vote fraud while Republicans are about personal responsibilty and protecting the integrity of elections. Why even have them register at all Nancy? Isn't requiring them to fill out a form also "disenfranchising" of the lazy?
There can only be one explanation for Democrats being so vociferous on this point: They know not requiring I.D.'s to vote helps them garner fraudulent votes.
Fixed it.
I waded through many lines and failed to see any explanation as to how exactly does the photo ID requirement prevent any otherwise qualified person from voting.
Can someone help me out here?
Every voter will be required to provide proof of identity before voting. The form of identification that you may use includes your current and valid photo identification card, military identification, copy of utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check, or government document showing your name and current address. (Note: You cannot use as proof of identification a notice that the board of elections mailed to you.) If you do not have, or fail or refuse to provide, the required proof of identity, you may cast a provisional ballot.
I've gotten two or three notices in the mail about this already. This is the first election I remember where you have to have any ID at all.
Just those UNELIGBLE to vote, Nance.
Lie. Lie. lie. Lie. Lie. Lie. Lie. Lie. Lie.
Noooooooooooo....Voter ID is to make sure we only vote once, and we are who we say we are.
Oh my!
Is that sooooo hard to understand np?
Oh me, I have to get some ice for my A & W diet rootbeer.
I'm getting flustered!
First, I think there's a constitutional provision that prohibits disenfranchising citizens. Second, as an American citizen, I'm disenfranchized when there is no means to prevent non-citizens from voting, because in such situations, the value of my vote is diminished. That is, one man, a portion of one vote.
Especially those generations of Democrat voters that have been "pushin up daisies!"
What a crock of poop.
This woman is pure evil.
Let's see if the RNC is smart enough to use this as an election issue.
Hey, you just gave me an idea: make it legal to sell alcohol, cigarettes, and/or guns at voting places! One needs an ID to purchase those items, so the ID should be handy and ready to show for the voting part, too.
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