Obama Questions Justice Department Ruling to Pre-Approve Restrictive Georgia Voter ID Law
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Printable FormatFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Obama Contact: Robert Gibbs or Tommy Vietor, (202) 228-5511
Illinois Contact: Julian Green, (312) 886-3506
Date: November 30, 2005
Obama Questions Justice Department Ruling to Pre-Approve Restrictive Georgia Voter ID Law
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT) today sent a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales questioning the Department of Justice's (DOJ) pre-approval of a Georgia law requiring residents to show a photo ID before voting despite the objections of four out of five career DOJ officials. The law was later ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge in Georgia and the Eleventh Circuit United States Court of Appeals upheld the ruling.
"It is troubling that despite the objections of four out of five its own career employees, the Department of Justice would pre-approve a law that would make it more difficult for minority, disabled, elderly and low-income Americans to vote," said Obama. "The law has since been ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge and that ruling was upheld by the 11th Circuit, making it clear that the Department of Justice should have listened to its own staff."
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 requires Georgia to submit any voting rule changes for review to the Justice Department to determine if they would adversely affect minority groups. The Justice department can then immediately stop the proposed changes or it can issue a "pre-clearance" letter, which would allow it to proceed.
According to an August 25, 2005 DOJ memorandum released to the Washington Post, four of the five career staffers charged with analyzing the Georgia law recommended that DOJ oppose pre-clearance of the program. These attorneys argued that the State of Georgia failed to prove, as required under the Voting Rights Act, that the measure would not unduly hinder the ability of minority voters to cast their ballots.
"I agree that there are real problems in our election systems that demand real answers," said Obama. "But there is no evidence to suggest that there is a rash of voters appearing at the polls claiming to be someone they are not. In our democracy, the goal should be to encourage eligible voters to vote, not create new barriers to make it more difficult for some of our most vulnerable citizens to exercise their most basic right."
At least 150,000 senior citizens in Georgia do not have government-issued photo identification. Currently, Georgia has only 56 locations in its 159 counties where people can get this photo identification - and Atlanta, one of America's largest cities, is not one of them. The ID's would cost up to $35, which the court ruled would constitute a poll tax.
In September, Senator Obama introduced a joint resolution with Georgia Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) and Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) expressing their belief that any law requiring a photo ID to vote would put an undue burden on voters. The resolution was in response to the Department of Justice's clearance of the Georgia statute and the Carter-Baker Commission on Election Reform's recommendation of a national ID requirement.
November 30, 2005
The Honorable Alberto Gonzales
United States Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
Dear Attorney General Gonzales:
We are writing to express our serious concerns about the decision of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to "pre-clear" the recently enacted Georgia voting law pursuant to the requirements of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
As you know, despite DOJ's pre-clearance of the law, a federal district judge temporarily stayed the Georgia law on the grounds that it would disproportionately affect minority voters and likely violate the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has upheld that decision.
The Department has attempted to characterize its pre-clearance decision as a joint conclusion by both career and political officials. According to an August 25, 2005, memorandum released by the Washington Post, however, four of the five career staffers charged with analyzing the Georgia law recommended that DOJ oppose pre-clearance of the program. These attorneys argued that the State of Georgia failed to prove, as required under the Voting Rights Act, that the measure would not unduly hinder the ability of minority voters to cast their ballots.
Despite the well-reasoned recommendation of these career employees, the DOJ disregarded the employees' recommendation and pre-cleared the law the next day.
The same Washington Post story indicates that some former and current DOJ employees have claimed that political appointees also overruled career lawyers in approving redistricting measures in Texas and Mississippi. We understand that DOJ spokesperson, Eric Holland has dismissed claims that the August 25th memo is of any significance, claiming, "The early draft . . . does not represent the quality of factual and legal analysis that the Justice Department expects in a final product." Nonetheless, we are concerned that the Georgia pre-clearance decision is just the latest example of a trend within DOJ in which political appointees have ignored the decisions and recommendations of career attorneys in voting rights cases.
In order for Congress to conduct oversight of DOJ's enforcement powers with respect to voting rights and election law, we request that you provide us with all DOJ documents regarding, discussing or otherwise relevant to the pre-clearance of the Georgia law, including any documents discussing the decision to disregard the August 25th memorandum. We look forward to your response within the next two weeks.
Sincerely,
| _________________________ | _________________________ | |
| Barack Obama | Christopher J. Dodd | |
| United States Senator | United States Senator |