Civil and Human Rights Coalition Supports Request to Justice Department for Close Scrutiny of State Voter ID Measures

On June 29, 16 U.S. senators sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice urging it to review new state voter ID laws and scrutinize their implementation to ensure that eligible voters are not disenfranchised. Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement:

“The civil and human rights community welcomes the senators’ request to the Department of Justice to examine state voter identification laws to make sure that eligible voters are not denied the right to vote.

Voting is our most fundamental right as citizens; it’s the right that makes all other rights possible. Yet instead of making voting more accessible, these measures would deny voting rights to the 11 percent of voters who do not have government-issued identification— and an even higher percentage of seniors, people of color, people with disabilities, people with low incomes, and students. That fact alone requires additional vigilance.

The Justice Department must vigorously enforce our voting rights laws so that every eligible voter is permitted to cast a vote and to have that vote counted. Our nation has come too far and has too much at stake to allow new forms of discrimination to suppress this fundamental right.”

Wade Henderson is the president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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