SPLC: Trump Perpetuates Myth of Voter Fraud, Calls for Voter ID Aimed to Suppress Turnout

President Donald Trump today tweeted that “we should immediately pass Voter ID.” The following statement is from Nancy Abudu, deputy legal director for the Southern Poverty Law Center:

“Just days after referring to a majority-black city as 'infested,' the president now calls for voter ID — a device that disproportionately keeps black voters from the polls. Voter ID laws do not address 'voter fraud' — which is consistently proven to be non-existent. But they do create barriers for black, Latinx, low-income, and elderly voters, who are more likely than the general population to lack an acceptable form of photo identification. Unfortunately, perpetuating the myth of voter fraud has been so successful that conservative lawmakers use it as a cudgel to undermine the black vote, particularly in the Deep South. In order to strengthen our sacred right to vote, we must restore the Voting Rights Act to its full strength.”