FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:

Logan Churchwell
media@truethevote.org

TRUE THE VOTE STATEMENT ON SENATE VOTING RIGHTS ACT
AMENDMENT HEARING

Voters rights group urges caution when considering potential federal overhaul of elections

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- June 25, 2014: True the Vote (TTV), the nation's leading voters rights and
election integrity organization, today released a statement in advance of the upcoming United States
Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearing titled, The Voting Rights Act and S.1945: Updating the
Voting Rights Act in Response to Shelby County v. Holder.
"Its important that voters recognize this hearing for what it is the well-timed manufacturing of an
inside-the-Beltway sense of crisis involving voting rights, spun up to justify expanding federal
powers, True the Vote President Catherine Engelbrecht said. One year ago today, the Supreme Court
declared the Voting Rights Act an overall success, but deemed certain portions of it woefully out of date.
Today, D.C. simply wants its old powers back and then some.
There is a striking contrast between the straightforward electoral process improvements
Americans expect and the circuitous changes lobbied for by special interest groups. While the vast
majority of Americans strongly support voters rights protections like voter ID to ensure process integrity
a marginal, yet vocal group continues to demand nationalized, race-driven enforcement of laws and
election changes tailored to assist partisan interests. We cannot let this latest attempt at a manufactured
crisis open the door to efforts that will re-tool our voting processes to serve the interests of contemporary
political campaign strategies, while sacrificing the rights of American voters.

What voters will see today is a desperate attempt among the permanent Washington political class to
replace their once-held heavy influence in elections with a framework to build absolute dominion thereof.
If this Justice Department and its legal allies in the nonprofit sphere get their way, once quaint concepts
like equal protection for all racial categories of voters will have to make room for partisan, non-judicial
applications of poorly written legal reforms, Engelbrecht concluded.

In addition to todays comment regarding the Senate hearing, True the Vote joined a collection of national
voters rights organizations and leaders in signing letters to recent partner bill cosponsors Reps. Steve
Chabot and Michael Turner (Ohio) warning them of the dangerous consequences the DOJ-endorsed
bills would bring. Former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor was a recent recipient of this effort as well.


True the Vote (TTV) is an IRS-designated 501(c)(3) voters rights organization, founded to inspire and
equip volunteers for involvement at every stage of our electoral process. TTV empowers organizations
and individuals across the nation to actively protect the rights of legitimate voters, regardless of their
political party affiliation. For more information, please visit www.truethevote.org.


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