Congressman Clyburn to Recognize National Voter Registration Day by hosting a Columbia Voter Engagement & Protection Community Forum
September 21, 2012
COLUMBIA, SC – Sixth District Congressman and Member of the Congressional BlackCaucus, James E. Clyburn, will be joined by Reverend Al Sharpton of theNational Action Network at a Columbia Voter Engagement and ProtectionCommunity Forum on Tuesday, September 25 – National Voter RegistrationDay. The event will be held at Drew Wellness Center, 2101 Walker Solomon Way, at 10:00 am. The forum is open to the public and will be attendedby Benedict College and Allen University students.
“National Voter Registration Day is a time for us to reflect on the hard wonright to vote and draw attention to efforts like those in South Carolina to curtail that right,” Congressman Clyburn said. “Voter ID laws arenothing more than Voter Denied laws, and I am pleased Reverend Sharptonis coming to Columbia to highlight this travesty.”
“I’m glad to join Congressman Clyburn on an effort that is one of the mostimportant issues of our time and one that far too many people sacrificed for,” said Rev. Al Sharpton, President of National Action Network. “Voter suppression is designed to prevent us from casting legitimate ballots and the best way to fight it is to expose it.”
The Columbia forum will be one of several “Vote Ready” events coordinated across thecountry on National Voter Registration Day by members of theCongressional Black Caucus as a part of the For the People VoterProtection Initiative H. Res. 542 to bring attention to block the voteefforts. Restrictive voter ID laws may impede as many as 5 millionpeople from registering to vote and/or casting a ballot this November.
At least 34 states, including South Carolina, have introduced laws thatwould require voters to show photo identification in order to vote andat least 12 states have introduced laws that would require proof ofcitizenship, such as a birth certificate, to register to vote or tovote. The states that have already cut back on voting rights provide 171 electoral votes in 2012, 63 percent of the 270 needed to win thepresidency.
As part of the National Voter Registration Day event, voter registration opportunities will be provided by the South Carolina Voter Education Project from 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. at the Drew Wellness Center. The last day to register to vote in South Carolina before the November election is Saturday, October 6th.
