U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder (Pic by ryanjreilly, via Flickr) Talking Points Memo reports that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder expressed concern over states seeking to “restrict the ability of people to get to the polls” during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing yesterday.
“„“This Department of Justice will be aggressive at looking at this jurisdictions that have attempted for whatever reason to restrict the ability of people to get to the polls,” Holder said at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
“„Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) — who chaired a hearing on attempts to place restrictions on voting rightsthrough measures like voter ID, shortening early voting periods and limiting the capabilities of groups trying to run voter registation drives — asked Holder what DOJ was doing to ensure voters weren’t disenfranchised.
“„“I think a fundamental question is raised: who are we as a nation?” Holder said. “Shouldn’t we be coming up with ways to encourage more people to get to the polls to express their views?” he continued.
“„“I am not talking about any one particular state effort, but more generally I think for those who would consider trying to use methods, techniques to discourage people from coming to the polls — that’s inconsistent with what we say we are as a nation,” Holder said.