Attorney General Holder Blasts Voter ID Laws In Texas
Attorney General Eric Holder spoke in Austin, Texas Tuesday night and blasted both the legislature’s redistricting maps (which disenfranchised Latino voters) and voter ID laws, which target these voters before they even get to the polls. Here’s some of what Holder said:
“The most recent census data indicated that Texas has gained more than 4 million new residents — the vast majority of whom are Hispanic — and that this growth allows for four new congressional seats,” he said. “However, this state has proposed adding zero additional seats in which Hispanics would have the electoral opportunity envisioned by the Voting Rights Act.”
San Antonio Congressman Charles Gonzalez issued statement concurring with the AG:
When it comes to voter identification laws here are the facts. Tens of millions of Americans citizens who are eligible to vote do not have picture IDs. They are disproportionately minorities, elderly, disabled, and poor. These groups face greater challenges in exercising what the 14th Amendment calls “the right to vote”. Voter ID laws will impose new hurdles on these voters, increasing the time, effort, and even money they must pay to participate in our democracy. And even the most dedicated and zealous proponents of these laws can’t find evidence of the only kind of fraud the laws might prevent. When you have a law we know will disenfranchise people and can’t prevent non-existent in-person voter fraud, the response is obvious: it is a bad law.
