Holder said the Justice Department was committed to enforcing the Voting Rights Act
Martin Luther King Jr. cited by Eric Holder on voting issues
Holder said the Justice Department was committed to enforcing the Voting Rights Act.
By MJ LEE | 1/16/12 12:16 PM EST
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“Despite our nation’s record of progress, and long tradition of extending voting rights – today, a growing number of citizens are worried about the same disparities, divisions, and problems that Dr. King fought throughout his life to address and overcome,” Holder said at an MLK Day event in Columbia, S.C.
Holder’s remarks in the Palmetto State come just weeks after the Justice Department blocked the state’s new voter ID law from taking effect, citing an unfair burden on minority voters.
Citing the “drumbeat of concern” he has encountered from Americans across the country about discrimination in the election systems, the attorney general vowed that the Justice Department was more committed than ever before to enforcing the Voting Rights Act.
Holder promised to continue reviewing recently proposed changes to the election system, including those that govern third-party voter registration organizations, early voting and photo identification requirements, with the goal of ensuring that there is “no discriminatory purpose or effect.”
“We need – and the American people deserve – election systems that are free from discrimination, free from partisan influence, and free from fraud,” said Holder. “And we must do everything within our power to make certain that these systems are more, not less, accessible to the citizens of this country.”
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