Velazquez on Voting Rights Act

Washington, DC –Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) today made the following extension of remarks in the U.S. House regarding the Voting Rights Act:

“I thank my friend for yielding and hosting this discussion.

“It’s ironic that, as a country, we consistently advocate for other countries to support democratic traditions and institutions -- and empower their citizens.

“Sadly, because of the Shelby decision, we are not living up to our own standards.

“But, we cannot lay all the blame on the Supreme Court. The Court was clear in their ruling. While they invalidated the mechanism used to determine what jurisdictions required pre-clearance – they also suggested that Congress could come up with a standard that passes constitutional muster.

“Thanks to Republican inaction, we have failed in that task.

“Now, we are about to have the first Presidential election -- in five decades -- without the very basic protections that were enshrined in the Voting Rights Act.

“What does this mean? It means that some of our most vulnerable populations – communities of color, young people, students and women – are more likely to encounter obstacles to exercising their most basic right.

“And, let’s be absolutely clear --- there remain serious challenges and problems when it comes to protecting voters. By no means are the protections in the VRA out-of-date or no longer necessary.

“We saw a stark example of this earlier this year – in Brooklyn. In April, some 120,000 voters from the rolls in Kings County - the largest county in the state- were improperly purged from the voter rolls. And, an analysis by local media outlets found those affected were disproportionately Latino voters -- mostly in working class neighborhoods like Sunset Park, East New York, and parts of Bushwick and Williamsburg.

“Now, let’s recall that Kings County was previously covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Would these voters have been removed if the VRA were still intact? The fact is we do not know.

“But we do know this – our democracy and our system of voting is not perfect -- and to argue that voters are no longer disenfranchised is simply false. We’ve seen that clearly in Brooklyn.

“And, let me make one other observation -- those who argue that we need more stringent voter ID laws to prevent “voter fraud” are making a dishonest argument. Every credible expert who has examined the data has concluded this --- voter fraud is exceedingly rare, if not completely nonexistent.

“Voting rights should not be a Republican issue or a Democratic issue. We should all be passionate about defending and upholding this most basic right – for all Americans.

“Yet, this Congress-- thanks to the Republican Leadership --has failed to do the necessary work to restore the protections in the Voting Rights Act.

“Earlier this year, my colleagues Hakeem Jeffries, Grace Meng and I hosted a forum on the Voting Rights Act. We heard from local experts about the need to restore these protections. I ask unanimous consent that comments from that session be inserted into the record.

“Let me conclude simply by saying this – it is shameful this Congress has not addressed this issue. But it is also not surprising. Just as this House has not acted on gun violence and has not yet allocated appropriate funding to address Zika, or dealt with the Flint water crisis -- this is yet one more example of how House Republicans are simply not doing their job.

“So, I call on my colleagues – do your job. Let’s do the hard work of reinstating these democratic protections so voters are not disenfranchised.

“I thank my friend for the time and I yield back.”

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