WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today. Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s assertion that shoppers need to show photo ID to buy groceries, in an effort to promote restrictive Voter ID laws:
“What we saw yesterday is beyond the pale. President Trump well knows the power and influence that he holds when standing behind that podium and speaking to the public. Unsubstantiated claims and falsehoods stand to spread like wildfire, distorting public opinion and prompting local officials to put in place unnecessary barriers to the ballot box.
“Moreover, this was President Trump seeking to achieve what he could not through his now defunctElection Integrity Commission. President Trump has been bent on promoting voter suppression and erecting barriers that make it harder for our nation’s most vulnerable communities to vote.
“President Trump’s statements are also fully at odds with the evidence. Data makes clear that strict voter ID laws have a negative impact on the most vulnerable of Americans, including African Americans, Latinos, low-income people and other people on the margins.”
