October 9, 2006

Just two months after overwhelmingly passing the Voting Rights Act Reauthorization of 2006, the U.S. House of Representatives recently reversed its commitment to ensuring the right to vote for all. Under legislation passed recently, they want U.S. citizens to show proof of their citizenship to vote and then show photo I.D. when they cast their ballots.

Introduced by Illinois Republican Rep. Henry Hyde, the bill, titled the Federal Election Integrity Act of 2006 (H.R. 4844), passed the House by a vote of 228 to 195. In the process, lawmakers are threatening to disenfranchise thousands of elderly, poor and minority Americans by burdening them with costly and inconvenient requirements.

Only a quarter of eligible voters have passports, which cost $97 to obtain, and naturalization papers used to prove citizenship cost $210 to be replaced. An estimated 6 to 12 percent of voters do not have government-issued photo identification, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

People of color, people with disabilities, the elderly, young, and people who live in poverty are among the groups least likely to have documents proving their citizenship. In certain parts of the United States, elderly African Americans and many Native Americans were born at home, under the care of midwives, and do not possess birth certificates.

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