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House Plays Politics with the Right to Vote
 Urge Senate to STOP the bill that threatens to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of American citizens!
September 22, 2006 -- In renewing and restoring the Voting Rights Act earlier this year, Congress and President Bush reaffirmed the nation’s commitment to providing access to the ballot box for all Americans. But late Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted nearly completely along party lines (228-196) to pass an ill-conceived voter ID bill that would cause hundreds of thousands of voters to be disenfranchised.
The House bill, H.R. 4844, requires all voters to obtain and show government-issued photo ID proving their citizenship before they can vote. But because in the vast majority of states, drivers’ licenses do not currently require proof of citizenship, this would mean that voters who do not bring to the polls a photo ID that verifies their citizenship – such as a passport – could not vote!
H.R. 4844 was considered alongside a series of enforcement-only immigration bills, in a move that Cecilia Munoz of the National Council of La Raza describes as “politically playing with fire.” This political maneuvering is an affront to the gains made in renewing the Voting Rights Act and an affront to the effort to pursue comprehensive immigration reform. The Senate must stop this bill in its tracks!
There is concern that Republicans could try to sneak an H.R. 4844-like national voter ID bill through the Senate in the next few days as the Senate pushes to recess for the fall campaign season. Your senators need to hear from you today!
Take Action with 3 simple steps!
1. Read the letter below.
2. Fill in your information in the form on the right.
3. Click "send this message" to send your letter to your senators.
(To find out more about H.R. 4844 and what's at stake click the "Tell me more" link below.)
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Oppose H.R. 4844
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
I am very disappointed by recent House action to pass the "Federal Election Integrity Act of 2006" (H.R. 4844) and I urge you to oppose any similar proposal in the Senate or in conference committee. A national voter ID as proposed in H.R. 4844 would undermine Congress' historic and bipartisan Voting Rights Act (VRA) reauthorization effort by disenfranchising some of the very citizens that the VRA is designed to protect.
By requiring voters to pay for photo ID and proof of citizenship, legislation such as H.R. 4844 is the equivalent of a poll tax. This legislation would disproportionately impact people of color, the elderly, individuals with disabilities, rural and Native voters, the homeless, low-income people, and married women, who studies show to be less likely to carry a photo ID.
The right to vote, and to have your vote counted, is the most important civil right of all. Proposals like H.R. 4844 are one of the greatest threats to fair and equal voting rights today. Congress should be in the business of encouraging full participation of its citizenry, not developing ways to limit the right to vote. I urge you to oppose any national voter ID proposal.
Sincerely,
Sincerely,
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