Steven Holt: “today I rise to object strongly to the voter disenfranchisement proposal before us. According to the Election Assistance…”

“today I rise to object strongly to the voter disenfranchisement proposal before us. According to the Election Assistance Commission's comprehensive Survey of the 2004 election, there were more than 197 million voting-age American citizens at that time. According to the Brennan Center for Justice in its September 2006 voter identification study, as many as 10% of eligible voters do not have, and maybe will not get, the documents required by strict voter ID laws. Thus, the very first thing this bill will do is disenfranchise as many as 20 million eligible voters. Who are these 20 million voters? The poor. The elderly. The disabled. Persons of color. Native Americans. Students. Why would anyone vote in favor of disenfranchising these citizens? The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) was an imperfect bill, but it did reach a bipartisan compromise on voter identification. HAVA's already-existing requirements for voter identification and the integrity of voter registration rolls go on for pages.…”