John Kerry Denounces House Vote for Jim Crow Era Poll Tax

[kerrygoddess]

John Kerry Denounces House Vote for Jim Crow Era Poll Tax
September 21st, 2006 @ 4:41 pm

There was more in the news today about voter rights and election integrity, including an editorial from the NY Times that I posted earlier about the House passing the Federal Election Integrity Act of 2006. Election Integrity my ass…

John Kerry issued the following statement today, regarding yesterday’s vote in the House on the Federal Election Integrity Act of 2006. The bill would require voters in federal elections to prove their U.S. citizenship by showing picture government-issued photo ID.

“I am deeply troubled by the House of Representative’s decision yesterday to endorse a new Jim Crow era poll tax. If Republicans were serious about restoring electoral integrity, they would stop fabricating problems with the polls, and they’d take a crack at the real ones.

“There has been no flood of illegal immigrants trying to vote. There is no epidemic of individuals impersonating registered voters. What there is, however, is a shortage of accessible voting machines and polling places. There is a need for voter-verified paper ballots. There are problems with absentee and provisional ballots and purging voter lists.

“These are the real problems threatening our electoral system today. These are the real reasons people are being denied their fundamental right to vote. These are the reasons we need to pass the Count Every Vote Act and fully fund the Help America Vote Act. We have enough to do to restore integrity to our elections. Creating a 21st century poll tax is not the answer—it is just one more problem.”

{snip}
Brad Friedman, the progressive blogosphere’s champion of voter rights is calling on Congress to pass Emergency Paper Ballot Legislation in time for the mid-terms. It’s an awesome idea — contact your Reps and Senators and urge them to consider this very important safeguard. Rumor has it at least 2 or 3 Senators have expressed interest.

MORE & LINKS - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=4251

Call on Congress to Pass “Emergency Paper Ballot Legislation’ Now
http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=4229

[msongs]

1. let the black repub senate candidate in Maryland brag about this!

while his mob runs ads claiming dems founded the KKK while ignoring the fact that the racists democrats mostly turned into republicans in the mid to late 60's and now make up the core of the republican party.

Msongs
www.msongs.com/political-shirts.htm

[wisteria]

2. No voting obstacles should be placed in peoples' way.

I am glad that Kerry is upset by this.

[IndianaGreen]

3. This is another outrage from America's Fascist Party

I applaud Kerry for his denunciation of this travesty!

House Republicans Push to Nullify Voting Rights Act
By Joel Wendland

A coalition of civil rights and liberties organizations has described the bill as an attempt at voter suppression through imposing a thinly disguised poll tax. Studies show that people of color, low-income people, individuals with disabilities, rural voters, and Native Americans are among those portions of the population who are less likely to possess photo identification, let alone identification that is proof of citizenship. Identification that can be used as proof of citizenship – a passport or other papers – can cost from $97 into the hundreds of dollars. Paying such a fee amounts to a poll tax.

This likely disproportionality means that the Republican-authored bill aims at disenfranchising large sections of several classes of voters, many of whom often do not support Republican candidates or policies.

But it also likely that millions of citizens who fall outside these groupings would have to pay some additional fees to obtain the right to vote. An AFL-CIO letter aimed at members of Congress pointed out that only 25% of Americans hold passports, and that the majority of state ID's do not require proof of citizenship. Therefore, most voters would be required to purchase new documentation in order to obtain the right to vote.

In a letter to the Committee on House Administration, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), a coalition of civil rights and labor organizations, stated, "no citizen should have to pay to vote."

Additionally, the LCCR argued, the requirements in H.R. 4844 allow greater discretion by polling place officials over allowing and disallowing votes, "creating opportunities for discrimination at the polls against racial, ethnic, and language minority voters."

http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/4119/1/211/

[kerrygoddess]

4. It is a travesty!

Just one screw the little people after another for these crooks!