Clinton to hit Alabama voting rights decision

Hillary Clinton will use a speech here Saturday to hit Alabama Republicans, including Gov. Robert Bentley, for the state's decision to close 31 driver's license offices and require proof of citizenship to vote.

Clinton, who will speak at Alabama Democratic Conference's Convention, will call for Bentley and the Republican-controlled legislature to "listen to their constituents, and for the offices to stay open -- not just for one day a month," according to Clinton aides who previewed the remarks to CNN.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency announced last week that an $11 million cut in the budget would force the closing of 31 part-time, county-owned satellite locations at which residents can obtain or renew their licenses. The state expects some of the needs of those who would have used such offices to be met online.

Democrats, however, have charged that the decision to close the offices is politically motivated due to the state's strict voter identification laws and will disproportionately affect African-American voters.

Clinton will call the state's voting rights laws -- including a requirement to provide proof of citizenship -- "discriminatory and demeaning and it has to end," the aides said.

"The closures," Clinton will say, "affect every single county where African-Americans make up more than 75% of registered voters."

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