June 4, 2007

Dear Senator:

On behalf of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) and the undersigned organizations, we write in strong opposition to an amendment to S. 1348, offered by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), that would require voters to obtain and show a governmentissued photo ID before exercising their constitutional right to vote.

Photo ID requirements are one of the most serious threats in decades to our efforts to ensure the right of every eligible American to vote. They encourage racial and ethnic discrimination at polling places, prevent eligible voters from participating in our democracy, and do nothing to combat genuine instances of voter fraud. Indeed, citing such concerns, courts have invalidated several state-level voter ID laws on constitutional grounds.

We oppose the McConnell ID amendment for the following reasons:

First, no citizen should have to pay to vote. This basic principle, a key inspiration for the Twenty-Fourth Amendment and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, would be greatly undermined by the McConnell amendment. While it is difficult for most people to imagine living without a photo ID, it is indisputable that many individuals do not have one – and it costs time and money to obtain it.

Authorizing funds so that states can give free ID to voters who cannot afford it, as the McConnell amendment does, is not sufficient. Our most cherished civil right should never be left to the mercy of the yearly appropriations process. Furthermore, citizens would still be faced with the expense and time involved in getting the documentation, such as a birth certificate, required to obtain a photo ID. Thus, while poll taxes were eliminated in the 1960s, the McConnell amendment would essentially bring them back.

Second, photo ID requirements will disproportionately disenfranchise people of color, older Americans, individuals with disabilities, rural and native voters, low-income and homeless people, and married women, who are less likely to carry a photo ID. They also give poll workers an unacceptable level of discretion, opening the door to discrimination at the polls against racial, ethnic, and language-minority voters.

Third, while supporters of stronger photo ID requirements argue that they are needed to combat election misconduct, the evidence establishes that current anti-fraud laws work. Moreover, while there is no question that election misconduct exists, including improper purges of voters, distributing false information about when and where to vote, stuffing ballot boxes, and tampering with registration forms, there is no evidence that the type of fraud that the McConnell amendment purports to address – voters who misrepresent their identity at the polls – is anything but an anomaly.

The right to vote, and to have your vote counted, is the most important civil right that we Americans have. And photo ID requirements are one of the greatest threats to fair and equal voting rights today. Congress should be in the business of encouraging full participation of our citizenry, not developing ways to limit the right to vote. For these reasons, we urge you to oppose the McConnell amendment to S. 1348.

Thank you for your consideration. If you have any questions, please contact Rob Randhava, LCCR Counsel, at (202) 466-6058 or randhava@civilrights.org.

Sincerely,
Wade Henderson
President & CEO
Nancy Zirkin
Vice President / Director of Public Policy

Additional Signatory Organizations:
A. Philip Randolph Institute
American Association of People with Disabilities
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
American Civil Liberties Union
American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
American Jewish Committee
Anti-Defamation League
Asian American Justice Center
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO
Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote)
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)
AARP
Center for Community Change
Common Cause
Consumer Action
Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities International, Inc.
Japanese American Citizens League
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
League of United Latin American Citizens
League of Women Voters of the United States
Legal Momentum
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
National Alliance of Postal and Federal Employees
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund
National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council of La Raza
National Council on Independent Living (NCIL)
National Disability Rights Network
National Education Association
National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA)
National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC)
National Organization for Women
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Urban League
Paralyzed Veterans of America
People For the American Way
Pride At Work, AFL-CIO
PrivacyActivism
Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund
Service Employees International Union
Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF)
The Interfaith Alliance
The Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
United Auto Workers (UAW)
United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW)
United States Student Association