Attacks On Voter Rights Are A “Deplorable Misplaced Priority”

WASHINGTON— The assault on the right to vote witnessed in 2011 is historic in terms of its geographic scope and ferocity, according to new testimony submitted by national policy center Demos to today’s House Judiciary Committee forum entitled “Excluded from Democracy: The Impact of Recent State Voting Law Changes.”

In the testimony Demos explains, “Legislation enacted in states across the country to require government-issued photo identification and/or prove citizenship to register to vote, make voter registration more difficult, and curtail early voting is nothing short of blatant vote suppression, the likes of which has not been seen in generations.”

Steven Carbó, Senior Program Director of Demos’ Democracy Program, stated, “A group of very extreme politicians is threatening the most fundamental freedom of our democracy by creating new barriers to the vote. Urgent action is needed by the US Department of Justice, fair-mined policy makers, and concerned citizens to combat these proposals and ensure that all Americans can exercise their right to cast a ballot and choose their leaders.”

Today’s forum is being held by House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.), House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), House Administration Committee Ranking Member Robert Brady (D-Pa.), House Judiciary Constitution Subcommittee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Representative Keith Ellison (D-Minn), and other members of the House of Representatives.