Elijah Lewis: “Mr. Speaker, just 3 months ago this body passed the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, admitting the sad…”

“Mr. Speaker, just 3 months ago this body passed the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, admitting the sad fact that voter discrimination is still a reality in this great Nation. This Congress decided we could do better, that history required us to protect the right of all Americans to vote. Today this bill moves us in a different direction, the wrong direction. This bill, like the unconstitutional Georgia photo ID bill and so many other photo ID schemes throughout the country, is an attack on the voting rights of millions of American citizens. I am beyond disgusted. I am shocked. I find it hard to believe that the Republican leaders in Congress will put election year games ahead of the voting rights of American citizens. We fought too long, fought too hard, and suffered too long for the right to vote. People died to participate in the democratic process. We must not turn back the clock. We must not go back. We must go forward and open up the political process and let all American citizens come in. Call it what you may, this bill is a modern-day poll tax; $10 or $15 for a birth certificate, $100 for a passport, this is a poll tax. There is no other way to say it. It costs money to get a birth certificate. It costs money to get a passport.”