Many in Congress have been silent on the issue of voter suppression laws, but one senator has made it his mission to expose them for what they are: the thinly veiled disenfranchisement of minority populations. Today, Sen. Bill Nelson (D–Fla.) announced that he will hold a Senate field hearing to find out whether states have enacted laws to suppress voter turnout. The announcement comes on the heels of his request last month for Attorney General Eric Holder to open an investigation into whether the law in Florida (HB 1355)—and similar laws in more than a dozen other states—is part of a larger effort to suppress voter turnout among minorities and senior citizens in the 2012 general election. The hearing is scheduled for January 27, 2012 in Tampa.
In a press release, Nelson’s office outlined some of the reasons for holding this hearing:
Since its passage earlier this year, the law in Florida already has resulted in the nonpartisan Florida League of Women Voters abandoning its voter registration drive after 72 years. And two high school teachers have run afoul of the law after trying to preregister some of their students.Among other changes, the law reduces the time for early voting in Florida from 14 days to eight and requires voters who want to give a new county address at the polls to use a type of ballot less likely to be counted. Seniors like early voting and college students change their addresses frequently. The law also requires those who sign up new voters to first register with the state and then submit all voter applications within 48 hours. It subjects people like the schoolteachers to hefty fines even for inadvertent mistakes.
NCLR supports Sen. Nelson’s efforts to quash voter suppression laws. Earlier this year, we joined the League of Women Voters in filing an intervening motion to prevent the implementation of several similar provisions. In a blog post on the subject, NCLR Vice President Eric Rodriguez explained that, “if [the law is] allowed to go into effect, millions of Hispanic and other minority voters across the state will become disenfranchised. Florida’s example is likely one to be duplicated in other states, creating a dangerous precedent that is likely to scale back some of the progress we’ve fought so hard for as a nation, over the last half of a century.”
Addressing these laws now is critical as the 2012 election is in full swing. NCLR is working hard to help Sen. Nelson and other groups shed light on what is happening to voter rights. Over the weekend, we joined several civil rights groups at the Stand for Freedom voting rights rally in New York City. Thousands filled the streets to protest what many believe to be the most aggressive attempt to roll back voter rights in more than a century. The full text of the speech that NCLR’s Rafael Collazo gave to rally participants is available here. You can also check out a short video of highlights of the rally.
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