Bennie Thompson: “integrity is having the wisdom to say what you believe and the courage to do what you say. Here on the floor of this…”

“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.…”