Providing For Consideration Of H.R. 4844, Frderal Election Integrity Act Of 2006
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 4844, FEDERAL ELECTION INTEGRITY ACT OF 2006 -- (House of Representatives - September 20, 2006)
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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, integrity is having the wisdom to say what you believe and the courage to do what you say.
Here on the floor of this House, we talk about our beliefs in democracy, we talk about preserving and protecting the Constitution, we talk about the importance of voting. But talk is not enough. We must act. And if we enact this bill, we will fail the second test of integrity, to have your actions in line with your words.
In 2002, we passed the Help America Vote Act. HAVA set a baseline for voter identification requirements. Only three States in the Nation have interpreted HAVA to require photo identification at the ballot box. Each of these State laws is being challenged. Yesterday the Georgia court struck down the State's voter ID law. They said it violated the State constitution.
States that require photo ID at the ballot box provide a provisional ballot if a voter does not have an ID, but the bill before us today will go a giant step further. Without a valid ID, a voter can only get a provisional ballot if they can prove citizenship. So even if you voted for years, were born in this country and served in the military, you could be turned away.
Mr. Speaker, I am from Mississippi, and I know what voter suppression is when I see it. We stand here today ready to short-circuit the judicial process and impose a system that all 50 States have outright rejected.
My colleagues on the other side of this aisle have stated that this bill will help stamp out voter fraud, but look at the facts. The Department of Justice statistics show that over 196 million votes have been cast in Federal elections. Only 52 individuals have been convicted of voter fraud. In Ohio, 9 million votes were cast in the last two elections and only four cases of ineligible voters were found. In Wisconsin, the U.S. Attorney General conducted an investigation into alleged widespread voter fraud. He found 14 cases.
Today we are asked to mandate that State and local elections officials in every State train an army of volunteer poll workers to spot an acceptable photo ID, but we give them no money to do so.
Why the rush? This requirement will create massive confusion at the polling sites all over the country. People who have never had a photo ID will be required to produce it. Many people will have an ID. Some will go home and get their ID and come back. But others will not. Some of these people who are turned away may not have a driver's license or a passport at home. They will not come back. And they will wonder, as my fellow Mississippian Fannie Lou Hamer wondered, is this America?
I know it is hard for some folk to understand, but there are millions of people in this country that will not have an acceptable ID.
Mr. Speaker, I have found what WMD really stands for, weapons of mass disenfranchisement, and it is here in this bill. An election with integrity is one in which every eligible voter is encouraged to vote. I oppose this rule.
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