Rep. Marcia Fudge defends Obamacare

Congressional Black Caucus Chair Marcia Fudge, a Warrensville Heights Democrat, is asking U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to review proposed voting law changes in Ohio that she believes would "disenfranchise large portions of the African American electorate and limit their access to the ballot box."

(Sabrina Eaton, The Plain Dealer)

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Warrensville Heights Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge on Wednesday alleged that proposed voting law changes pending in Ohio's legislature are intended to disenfranchise minorities, students and the elderly, and she asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to review them.

Fudge sent Holder a letter on Wednesday that said a proposed Ohio law that would require photo identification to vote in all elections and a bill that would reduce Ohio's early voting days by a week and eliminate "one-stop voting" would "have the effect of abridging the rights of African American and minority voters."

She said the voter ID proposal, H.B. 269, authored by Union Township Republican Rep. John Becker, and the early voting law change, S. 238, authored by Copley Township Republican Sen. Frank LaRose, would violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which bans states from applying voting qualifications that deny or abridge voting rights based on race.

Her letter said as many as one in four eligible African American voters in Ohio lack the sort of photo identification that would be required under Becker's legislation, and the same-day registration and early voting affected by LaRose's bill "have recently been used at a higher rate by African American and low income voters."

"I believe both these proposals are designed to systemically restrict the access of eligible Ohioans to the voting booth, particularly minorities, students and the elderly," said Fudge, who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus. She asked Holder to "exercise your authority to examine these bills so that voting rights are not jeopardized."

Becker could not be reached on Wednesday afternoon to comment on Fudge's letter. When his voter ID bill was introduced, Becker said its purpose was to "discourage fraud and to provide the most basic, common, and reasonable security for voting.

“The bill allows for free photo IDs for people who can’t afford to purchase one and who are at or below the federal poverty level,” Becker said in a press release.

LaRose, whose bill passed the Ohio Senate earlier this month, said reducing Ohio's early voting by a week will eliminate a period when voters are currently permitted to both vote and register to vote, which strains election boards during their busiest time of year.

"All the county boards of elections have been telling us it is a concern," said LaRose, who noted that Ohio would still have 28 or 29 days of early voting if his bill becomes law, depending on the year's calendar.

LaRose said his measure is not connected to Becker's photo ID proposal, which he opposes. He said he was "pretty shocked" to learn of Fudge's objections, and that she did not contact him about them before writing a letter to Holder. LaRose said he doubts Holder would act on Fudge's concerns.

"I think we can have a reasonable debate about policy here," said LaRose. "To invoke the specter of a racial matter, I think, takes it too far. It is kind of shameful to do that. What we are talking about is a very modest reduction in the number of early voting days that still leaves Ohio as a leader in the nation, by far, for early voting."

Matt McClellan, a spokesman for Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, said Fudge's position on early voting conflicts with legislation she cosponsored last year that would require States to establish a minimum early voting period of 15 days before federal elections.



"Ohioans can count on the fact we will run fair elections where it is easy to vote and hard to cheat," said McClellan.