Cohen Requests Department of Justice Information on Voter Suppression

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, sent a letter to the Department of Justice requesting information on complaints it has received on voter suppression in 2016.

"The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy," said Congressman Cohen in his letter. "Yet, as you know, our nation has a long and ugly history of efforts to discourage and deny the fair exercise of this right, especially when attempted to be exercised by African Americans. Sadly, since the Supreme Court overturned a key provision of the Voting Rights Act in 2013, there has been a resurgence of efforts to establish new barriers to voting that could once again disproportionately impact minority communities."

Congressman Cohen continued, "Given the persistent threat to voting rights, I would like to know how many complaints the Department of Justice has received alleging, in whole or in part, that individuals were inappropriately denied the ability to vote in 2016."

In seeking the information, Congressman noted last year's U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4^th Circuit conclusion that the North Carolina legislature recently, "target[ed] African Americans with almost surgical precision[.]" According to the court, portions of a voter ID law imposed cures for problems that did not exist, and, "Thus the asserted justifications cannot and do not conceal the State's true motivation," which was discrimination. A copy of the 4^th Circuit's decision can be found here.

Read Congressman Cohen's full letter to the Department of Justice here.