On the recordMay 23, 2016
I thank my good friend for his leadership on this very important issue and for the steps that he has taken both here in Congress, with the initiation of the Voting Rights Caucus, as well as down in Texas as the lead plaintiff in the Veasey v. Abbott lawsuit to challenge the voter ID requirements--the draconian requirements--that have been imposed by the State of Texas. It should shock the conscience of every American that a State would impose a restriction that allows licensed gun owners to vote who disproportionately happen to be of a certain demographic--white male-- but would deny the legitimacy of IDs that the State of Texas itself issues. Texas A&M, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Houston, and other institutions are all public universities, and these individuals--these students--pay tuition to go to these public universities, and, in response, they are issued identification vehicles, identification cards, but the State of Texas has seen fit to say that that is not valid in order to vote. I think that one example--and we have heard several others--basically exposes the fact that the movement to impose voter identification requirements is fraud in itself. It is a sham. The whole argument behind it is that: We are trying to protect the integrity of the voting system.…
