Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia said on the House floor Wednesday that tea party Republicans in state legislatures were trying to suppress Democratic voters with “restrictive and unnecessary” laws.

According to a recent report by the Brennan Center for Justice, changes to voting laws could suppress up to five million votes during the 2012 elections, particularly among young, minority and low-income voters, as well as those with disabilities.

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“The tea party Republicans are trying to hijack our right to vote, so that they can steal the 2012 election,” he said. “I don’t know about you, but I am disgusted with tea party Republicans’ attempt to use voter suppression laws to erode traditionally Democratic voters by blocking their access to the polls.”

“These voter I.D. laws do not prevent fraud and in fact they do nothing other than suppress voter turnout. America has not seen this level of suppression since the days of poll taxes and literary tests.”

More than 30 states have changed voter laws since 2008, including requiring voter identification cards, eliminating same-day registration on voting day, prohibiting ex-felons from ballot access, restricting early voting and requiring proof of citizenship.

“These tea party Republicans have been scheming since day one of Obama’s term in office to make sure that he is a one term president” Johnson added. “They want to take ‘their’ country back.”

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