In an interview that has gotten little notice so far, US Attorney General Eric Holder told MSNBC’s Ari Melber that the federal government should intervene and stop states from enforcing voter ID.
Holder tells Melber, “Photo ID efforts are done inappropriately and for improper reasons. I think that ought to be the basis for federal intervention.”
Melber asks, “So when some Republicans say that voter ID is for election integrity, and thus is different than the history of racial discrimination we’ve seen in this country, they may be of good faith but you think they’re wrong.”
Holder replies, “Yeah, there are some who, I think, are coming from a good faith perspective, but I think many are using it for partisan advantage.”
After Indiana enacted voter ID, its law was challenged all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and upheld. Voting rates among minorities increased. Holder’s Justice Department is currently suing Texas, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina over those states’ voter ID laws. The suits continue despite the fact that Texas’ voter ID law saw its first test in 2013, and voting rates increased across the board.
A strong majority of Americans support voter ID laws, across all ethnicities.
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