Replies

Sen Kennedy:

Mr. President, it's a privilege to join Senator Obama and our other colleagues in sponsoring the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act, because it addresses an essential aspect of voting rights. For too long, we've ignored the festering problem of deceptive practices intended to intimidate and deceive voters in our national elections and suppress the vote of certain minority groups for partisan gain. The problem is a continuing threat to our democracy, and it's up to our new Congress to outlaw such practices, and I commend the Senator from Illinois for his leadership on this basic challenge.

In doing so, we must be vigilant to ensure that the bill does not erode the important division of responsibility in the Department of Justice between civil rights enforcement by the Civil Rights Division and the efforts by the Criminal Division to combat voter fraud. That division of responsibility is essential to convincing voters, particularly those in poor or minority communities to have the trust necessary to work with the Civil Rights Division and to inform it of possible civil rights violations. The bill should clearly provide that, as traditionally has been the case, the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division may not investigate matters of voter fraud, although it may provide technical advice and assistance to other parts of the Department in carrying out the requirements of this legislation.

These are all just portions of their statements. The rest can be found:

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/record.xpd?id=110-s20070131-42#sMonoElementm8m0m0m