The two parties sparred late Tuesday night over the proliferation of voter identification laws across the country, as several House Democrats said these laws would make it harder to minorities to vote, and a lone Republican said the evidence of voter fraud demands a solution such as ensuring all voters are legal U.S. citizens via a picture ID.
“They have only one true purpose, which is to disenfranchise eligible voters,” Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) said on the floor of various state laws. Several Democrats joined her to add that Republican claims of voter fraud are baseless. “There is no threat of voter fraud,” Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) said. “Are there rampant cases of impersonation, voting as someone else? No. Voter fraud is not rampant, there are not numerous cases of impersonation.”
Holt added that there may be some isolated cases of voter fraud, but said these do not demand solutions that could disenfranchise millions of voters.
Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) said vote ID laws are excessive because while it is true photo IDs are needed for various other reasons, voting is a right that cannot be taken away and should not be limited with this sort of condition.
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) spoke toward the end of the Democrats’ special order speech by repeating that voter fraud is a nonexistent problem.
“They claim we need to crack down the epidemic of voter fraud that does not exist,” he said of those who support the state laws. “There is simply no evidence of widespread voter fraud.”
Full Article: Dems, GOP spar over voter ID laws – The Hill’s Floor Action.