CBC Hour: Voter Identification Laws

Floor Speech

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Mr. TONKO. Thank you, Representative Fudge, for bringing us together this evening on a very important discussion, one that focuses on the fundamental underpinnings of this democracy, the ability to vote, right to vote, and encouraging voters to come to the polls.

This sort of effort that is being taken seriously by far too many as a form of reform is discouraging. This is an attempt, I believe, to discourage folks from voting across this country, from an effort that is somewhat presented in this description of going after voter impersonation fraud which, obviously, is something that everyone would be concerned about. But the element here is not to do that.

No one can point to this overwhelming evidence that there is this voter impersonation fraud that gets addressed by this sort of approach. What we have here is denial. It's a denial that may impact as many as 5 million Americans.

At a time when we should encourage a thoughtful democracy, encourage participation, this focuses on many who would be disenfranchised. Those who are of lower socioeconomic strata, those who are persons with disabilities, the minority community, the elderly community, those are the targeted forces here. And it is an outright attempt, I believe, to dissuade those who are eligible from voting.

And if we can move forward and encourage people to vote and spend the resources that would be required in the individual States to go and develop this ID system, we could spend those dollars in a better way to go after fraud in a more targeted fashion.

This, I think, is an underhanded approach to taking the voter population that currently exists out there, reducing it, and placing a hardship on people, many of whom do not have IDs. It is suggested that some 11 percent, or 20 million Americans, don't have those IDs, government-issued IDs that would be required with the reform effort that's under way.

So we need to see this for what it is. We need to encourage policy that will enhance the numbers of those voting and go after fraud in a very targeted way. This is not the answer.

There is no fundamental proof. There is no proof positive that it will attack and discourage the voter impersonation fraud out there. It simply doesn't happen.

Again, Representative Fudge, thank you for leading us in what I think is an important discussion on far too many situations out there that are being taken forward in a way that will be counterproductive.

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