John Lewis Says Voter ID Laws Are 'Poll Taxes By Another Name'

John Lewis Says Voter ID Laws Are 'Poll Taxes By Another Name'

by Jennifer Bendery at the Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/12/john-lewis-voting-rights_n_6857682.html?utm_hp_ref=politics

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WASHINGTON -- Civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) said Thursday that voter ID laws are a modern-day version of poll taxes once used by Southern states to disenfranchise black and poor people.

In a piece called "The Unfinished Work of Selma," Lewis reflected on the Supreme Court's decision in June 2013 to strike down a core piece of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. That provision, Section 4, determined which states and localities with a history of suppressing minority voters had to get permission from the Justice Department to change their voting laws. In a 5-4 vote, the court ruled that the section was outdated, and left it to Congress to come up with a new formula for designating which regions of the country warrant special scrutiny.

Congress hasn't done anything since. As Lewis noted in his piece, published on Mic, Republicans in statehouses around the country have moved quickly to pass laws making it harder for people to vote.

"Couched in language about 'protecting the ballot box,' Republicans have pushed voter ID laws that disproportionately impact certain blocks of voters -- African-Americans, women, Latinos, the poor and young people -- who tend to vote against them," he wrote. "In Texas alone, 600,000 voters were at risk of being disenfranchised by the new voter ID requirements."



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