Chuck Schumer: “The public also feels strongly about the Schumer-Wyden amendment, as does the AARP, the League of Women Voters, the…”

“The public also feels strongly about the Schumer-Wyden amendment, as does the AARP, the League of Women Voters, the American Association of People with Disabilities, NAACP, United Cerebral Palsy Association, and the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, to name a few of the many groups that oppose the provision as it stands. I say to my colleagues and those in the civil rights community, I thank them for working so closely with us on this amendment. We believe this provision, unamended, could undo lots of the progress we have made in the last decade to allow people to vote. In many areas, it could undo the significance of the motor voter law which allows people to register at their motor vehicle department or other places. Some of the voters who could be disenfranchised by the current provisions include, first, the elderly. Seniors vote in large numbers. In fact, the FEC estimated that, in 1998, 61.3 percent of all Americans over 65 voted. However, this provision established real barriers to the polls for older Americans. As the AARP explains: The bill's photo ID requirements are particularly problematic for many senior citizens. Alternate approaches, such as signature match and verification, already successfully used by the majority of States, could enhance the antifraud provisions without having a chilling effect on voter participation.”