Speaking on Sunday in Selma, Alabama, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland decried efforts by states to implement voter ID requirements as “discriminatory, burdensome, and unnecessary.”
Garland spoke at an event at the Tabernacle Baptist Church to commemorate the 59th anniversary of Selma police officers attacking demonstrators in the civil rights movement.
“There are many things that are open to debate in America,” Garland declared. “One thing that must not be open for debate is the right of all eligible citizens to vote and to have their vote counted.”
Garland did not define what he meant by “eligible.”
After citing the history of black people being denied voting rights, he claimed, “Court decisions in recent years have drastically weakened the protections of the Voting Rights Act that marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge bled for 59 years ago. And since those decisions, there has been a dramatic increase in legislative measures that make it harder for millions of eligible voters to vote and to elect the representatives of their choice.”
“The right to vote is still under attack,” he declared. “And that is why the Justice Department is fighting back. That is why, one of the first things I did as Attorney General was to double the number of lawyers in the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division.”
“That is why we are challenging efforts by states and jurisdictions to implement discriminatory, burdensome, and unnecessary restrictions on access to the ballot, including those related to mail-in voting, the use of drop boxes, and voter ID requirements,” he stated.
Biden AG Merrick Garland, speaking at an Alabama church, says election integrity efforts — such as voter ID requirements and restrictions on ballot "drop boxes" — are "discriminatory, burdensome, and unnecessary." pic.twitter.com/UExpO3nGbD
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 3, 2024
“Thirty-six state laws request or require voters to show some form of identification at the polls,” the National Conference of State Legislatures notes. “Fourteen states and Washington, D.C., do not require any documentation to vote at the polls.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP
“Voters across all demographics support voter ID laws in virtually every poll by almost 80%. This typically includes more than 60% of Democrats,” the Heritage Foundation points out, adding, “64% of black voters, 77% of Hispanics, and 76% of low-income voters support voter ID laws, according to a poll conducted by the Honest Elections Project.”