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facebookSeptember 17th Marks the 225th Anniversary of the Signing of the United States Constitution
New York, NY – In honor of Constitution Day, Congressman Charles B. Rangel reaffirmed his oath to the Constitution and condemned the threats against it posed by the new restrictive voting laws in numerous states across the country. Rangel also marked Citizenship Day, by urging every American citizen to make sure they are registered to vote so they can participate in the electoral process in November.
“With these new restrictive voting laws -- such as laws that require photo or voter identification to vote, laws that require proof of citizenship to register to vote, and laws that reduce early and absentee voting -- that unfairly target minority voters, it is important to recognize that today is Constitution Day and Citizenship Day,” Rangel stated. “The right to vote is our most precious constitutional right. We have fought and sacrificed so much to expand access to the ballot box; we cannot allow progress to be reversed.”
Since the ratification of the Constitution 225 years ago, six Voting Rights Amendments guaranteed African Americans, women, and eighteen-year-olds the right to vote and outlawed poll taxes in federal elections, allowed the citizens of our nation’s capital to vote for President, and gave ordinary Americans the right to elect their senators.
Yet since the beginning of 2011, new restrictive voting laws have been introduced and passed in many states across the country. In total, state legislatures introduced 180 restrictive voting bills in 41 states with 27 bills currently pending in six states. Seventeen states that account for 218 electoral votes, have passed laws that could impact the 2012 election.
Moreover laws that require voters to show photo identification (ID) alone have the potential to be very harmful given that over 21 million American citizens, including an estimated 700,000 young minority voters, do not possess a government-issued photo ID.
“Voter restriction laws take us in the wrong direction and are an assault on our Constitution,” Rangel said. “I marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to fight for equal opportunity and to demand the passage of Voting Rights Act. I will continue to defend our Constitution, civil rights and the sacred right to vote.”
Added Rangel: “The best way to honor the Constitution and to exercise duty as a citizen of this great country is making sure you and your family and friends are registered to vote.”
