Democratic Senators Denounce Vote ID Bill
VOTERID
New London Day
Margaret Stevenson
Boston University Washington News Service
September 27, 2006
WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 —Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) accused Republicans Wednesday of trying to hold down voter turnout by pressing for passage of a bill that would require people to present photo identification before they could vote.
“They are making it an issue because they want to suppress the vote,” he said.
At a press conference along with Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), Dodd said of the bill, “It’s unacceptable, it’s un-American and it’s just flat out wrong. And we are prepared to do anything necessary that would make sure this law does not pass in the U.S. Senate in the closing days of this session.”
The Federal Election Integrity Act, which the House passed on Sept. 20, would require potential voters to present appropriate photo identification at the polls beginning with the 2008 elections.
“This is a solution in search of a problem,” Dodd said. “There is not a single study anywhere that would indicate that people are showing up in person, which is what you have to do, to vote with false identification.”
Rep. Rob Simmons (R-Conn), who voted in favor of the bill, rejected the accusation.
“People are required to have photo identification to engage in routine activities such as boarding an airplane, entering a government building, purchasing cigarettes and cashing a check,” Simmons said in an e-mail response to questions. “Our voting system deserves at least as much protection as these day-to-day activities.”
Dodd and other opponents of the bill called it a poll tax that affects the poor, the elderly, and the disabled.
“The numbers are startling—4 million disabled people would be disenfranchised who do not have voter identification, would have to go out and pay an outrageous cost,” Dodd said.
At the press conference, Clinton said that “senior citizens, minorities and countless other Americans who struggle to make ends meet will be discouraged, deterred [and] voters would be required to buy a very expensive ID to vote—a modern day poll-tax for countless hardworking Americans.”
The bill’s backers say it will help protect against voter fraud.
“The bottom line for me is our election law says you have to be a citizen to vote, and proving that you are a citizen seems like a reasonable safeguard to ensure the law is followed,” Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn) said.
Simmons called the bill “a simple, commonsense proposal and a necessary safeguard against vote fraud.”
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