WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric Holder defended his department’s challenges to state’s voter ID laws on Monday, alleging that “those on all sides of this debate have acknowledged that in-person voting fraud is uncommon.”
Holder spoke at the League of Women Voters conference where he challenged those who believe that “easing registration hurdles will only lead to voter fraud.” (RELATED: Holder contempt of Congress vote scheduled)
“Making voter registration easier is, simply, not likely by itself to make our election more susceptible to fraud. Indeed, those on all sides of this debate have acknowledged that in-person voting fraud is uncommon,” Holder said. “We must be honest about this, and we must recognize that our ability to ensure the strength and the integrity of our election systems — and to advance the reforms necessary to achieve this — depends on whether the American people are informed, engaged and willing to demand common sense solutions that make voting more accessible.”
The Department of Justice has challenged voter ID laws in states like South Carolina and Texas, which require voters to show government identification before they cast a ballot in an election. Republicans have been supportive of these laws as a way to crack down on voter fraud, while Holder says that the laws would “place an unfair burden on non-white voters.”
Videography by Sarah Hofmann