Orrin Hatch: “I rise to offer another amendment to the bipartisan Equal Protection and Voting Rights Act of 2002. First let me thank…”

“I rise to offer another amendment to the bipartisan Equal Protection and Voting Rights Act of 2002. First let me thank my colleagues Senators Dodd, McConnell, Bond, Schumer, McCain, Torricelli, and others for all the hard work that they have put into this bill. I also want to thank Senator Leahy for cosponsoring this amendment, which will lay the groundwork for integrating new technology into the political process. Senator Leahy's knowledge and support of technological issues made his input invaluable. As Americans, we have the right to participate in the greatest democracy in the world, and most will agree that the act of voting is the bedrock of our democratic society. Americans take pride in the role they play in shaping issues and determining their leaders, and yet, we see that voter participation in recent years has decreased among people of all ages, races, and gender. I find these statistics both disappointing and tragic because, as Thomas Jefferson stated, 'that government is the strongest of which every man himself feels a part.' Why is voter turnout so low? Of the 21.3 million people who registered but did not vote in the 1996 election, more than one in five reported that they did not vote because they could not take time off of work or school or because they were too busy.”