Zoe Lofgren: “I would note that this bill is supported by a broad spectrum of civil rights groups, including the Leadership Conference…”

“I would note that this bill is supported by a broad spectrum of civil rights groups, including the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the NAACP, as well as the Brennan Center for Justice. And there is a reason for that. A lot of the mischief that goes on to try and prevent people from voting has a racial impact. We have seen the suppression of the vote, the efforts that have been undertaken to suppress the vote through confusion and through lies, where a piece of information would go into a minority community--``the vote is now on Wednesday, not on Tuesday''--so that people will be confused and not show up to vote. That is simply wrong. We need to take steps that are reasonable, as this is, to confront that. This bill will help. That is why so many groups support it. I urge defeat of the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.”