Washington, D.C. -This week, the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties held a hearing on “Protecting the Right to Vote: Best and Worst Practices."
TAKEAWAYS
* Dale Ho with the ACLU testified that the United States has one of the lowest voter registration rates in the western world.
* Leigh Chapman with the Leadership Conference testified that since the Shelby County v. Holder decision voter suppression efforts have skyrocketed. Such efforts disproportionately disenfranchise minority communities.
* Ho also testified that the Trump Administration has failed to adequately enforce the Voting Rights Act. The Administration has not filed a single lawsuit under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits discriminatory election procedures and practices.
* Contrary to the claims of President Trump, actual voter fraud is very rare. Chairman Raskin noted that a leading study found just 31 instances of voter fraud out of 1 billion votes cast between 2000 and 2014. However, Myrna Pérez with the Brennan Center testified that there is significant evidence of legally registered voters being improperly purged from the rolls.
WITNESSES
Myrna Pérez
Deputy Director, Democracy Program
Brennan Center for Justice
Leigh Chapman
Director, Voting Rights Program
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
Dale Ho
Director, Voting Rights Project
American Civil Liberties Union
Kaylan Phillips
Litigation Counsel
Public Interest Legal Foundation
VIDEOS
Watch Chairman Raskin’s opening statement.
Watch Rep. Wasserman Shultz’s question line.
Watch Rep. Pressley’s question line.
