Without objection the chairs authorized to declare recess of his committee at any time. I now recognize myself for an opening statement. Good morning, i thank all of you for being here today. Good morning, today we are examining our nations history of Voter Suppression as well as the obstacles that many minority communities continue to face to this day. In exercising their fundamental right to vote. Tomorrow we will be holding a ceremony to honor our dear friend and colleague and a former chairman Elijah Cummings. We will be renaming this hearing room after him and commending everything he stood for. Todays hearing is part of our efforts to honor his legacy. Protecting the right to vote was one of the most important issues if not the most important issue he fought for during his decades of service. We are holding this hearing in a gory during black History Month with black americans whose voices were stifled, blocks and silenced for centuries. It is black americans who are still being disproportionately targeted even now with shameful efforts to prevent them from registering to vote, purging their names from the voter files and making it harder for them to exercise their right under the constitution. Last february chairman cummings held a similar hearing one of the very first he called after becoming chairman of this committee. He explained his vision for our work. I would like to play a clip from that hearing. I believe that we should be doing everything in our power to make it easier for eligible american citizens to exercise their constitutional right to vote, not making it harder. We should be making it more convenient, not less. We should be encouraging more people to cast their votes not fewer. We should be promoting early voting, absentee voting, voting by mail and other ways to help citizens cast their ballots, not rolling back the very important programs. That is a northstar that everyone in this nation should rewith. On this day, 151 years ago Congress Passed the 15th amendments declaring the right of citizens to vote, shall not be denied on account of race. That was the beginning of a long and deadly struggle to ensure all american citizens can cast their votes. This year is also the 55thanniversary of the Voting Rights act of 1965 and the 55thanniversary of bloody sunday when hundreds of peaceful civil rights marchers were beaten on the Edmund Pettus bridge in selma alabama. The efforts of civil rights pioneers some of whom are here with us here today help millions of americans exercise their right to vote. Unfortunately today states are attacking the right to vote using tactics similar to those that civil rights pioneers battled for decades. Last year and under chairman cummings leadership and also that of congressman raskin the committee will launch an investigation of allegations in three key states, georgia, texas and kansas. Today we are releasing some of the documents and information we obtained as part of that investigation. For example in georgia secretary of state brian kemp purged more than half a million votes of the roles of plot the registrations of thousands more all while running for governor. Emails obtained by the committee showed mr. Camp at the top Campaign Aide congratulated each other for confusing the public about their illegal voter roll purges and they also lethally celebrated as they made it harder for hundreds of thousands of americans to vote. They have been used laughing and smiling emojis and a sickening display of division. We also examine texas which threaten thousands of innocent americans with criminal prosecution for voting illegally only to be forced to reverse course when it was revealed that many if not all were u. S. Citizens with every right to cast their ballot. Finally we examined kansas which moved the one and only polling site in the entire city of dodge city kansas outside the city limits without authoring to consult with the local voters. Dodge dodge city has a population of more than 25,000 and they consist predominantly of minorities. Unfortunately these are not the only instances of discrimination and Voter Suppression. For example North Carolina passed an extremely restrictive for i. D. Law that the Fourth Circuit struck it down a ruling that would target africanamericans with almost surgical precision. These abusive these abuses must end in the house of representatives have taken action to stop them. Last year the house passed a landmark bill to protect Voting Rights, h. R. 1 before the people act would reduce barriers to voting through automatic registration, sameday voting and registration and expanded early voting. H. R. 4 would restore and modernized the Voting Rights act to protect against discriminatory voting practices. Unfortunately senator Mitch Mcconnell has refused for months to allow the senate to vote on these bills. Communities across america need to localize to protect the right to vote in the upcoming elections. Every american can take action today to make sure their Voter Registration is at a to learn about their options for early or absentee voting and to find their polling sites. I would like to close where it began at our hearing a year ago last february. During that hearing chairman cummings told the story about how he sat with his mother on her deathbed and this is what she said to him and i would like to show this movie clip now. On my mothers dying dead at 92yearold a former sharecropper her last words were due not let them take our vote away from us. She had fought and seen people armed, beaten trying to vote. Talk about inalienable rights. Voting is crucial and i dont give a dam how you look at it. There are efforts to stop people from voting. Thats not right. This is not russia. This is the United States of america. Like his mother chairman cummings has now passed on but his spirit is still here with us in this very hearing as he urges us with moral clarity to protect and defend the core of our democracy. I want to thank all of you for coming today. I want to thank all of our witnesses for being here. I look forward to your historic testimony and i now recognize the distinguished Ranking Member mr. Jordan for his opening statement. Thank you madam chair and i want to thank you for your kind words about our former chairman and i would echo those sentiments. We all appreciate the work of chairman cummings over the years and the great things he was involved in and the causes he was involved in fighting for. And tomorrow afternoon this room will be dedicated to the late chairman. I want to also thank you chairman for calling this hearing and thank you for all of the witnesses that are here today for the right to vote in an election is the bedrock principle of american democracy. The right to vote has been expanded to all citizens regardless of race color gender and age requirement and has been lowered actually to 18 years old. The most recent expansion to place a 1986 when Congress Passed a law boeing servicemembers to vote while stationed overseas. These will remember that voting is traditionally a state and local responsibility. Some say voting is too hard and complications drive voters away up however a recent study contradicts these claims were according to the study conducted by the Knight Foundation 8 of voters said they did not have time to make it to the polls and 5 said they did not vote because they were not registered traditionally only 8 said they did not vote because it was too complicated and only 3 said changing the registration process would motivate them to vote. In fact almost 90 of voters surveyed by the foundation said that voting was the states were to ensure that access to voting is fair and we should not forget voting integrity must ensure that every eligible citizens vote is counted the votes are not stolen or diluted through voter fraud. The democrats are going to try mass voter by releasing 13 cherrypicked documents from over 1. 2 million of pages in their monthlong investigation in the 2018 midterm elections. These documents show coordinator attempt to suppress minority voters but in fact they do not produce documents show with little more than Election Officials to ensure honest and secure elections but thats the responsibility. They show these individuals doing their job by ensuring only eligible voters on the voter rolls and by taking any allegations of cyber crime seriously one of the most backward allegations the democrats argued the state of georgia should not have contacted authorities regarding potential cyber attacks. Georgia does not produce proof that the attacks of the committee the attack did not occur. That claim is ridiculous. The real investigations is looking into the matter and cybersecurity experts unanimously found there was an attempt to breach of the voter rolls for the release of these documents is to distract from serious issues in our election like voter fraud. In 2018 california falsely registered 23,000 voters including almost 2000 citizens. 23,000 votes could have changed the outcome of the 2016 president ial election in michigan New Hampshire wisconsin or nevada for new york thereve been 25 convictions of voter fraud related to false registration and duplicate voting. In maryland there have been a convictions and i could go on and on. Voter fraud is a religion of the visa be addressed in discussion about collecting voter requirement should include how states are going to defend against voter fraud. I hope we can discuss this important aspect here today as well. Again i would like to thank all of our witnesses for being here today and we look forward to hearing what you have to say. Thank you madam chair and i yield back. I will now recognize mr. To talk about her dear friend representative cummings. I want to thank all the witnesses for being here and for your testimony that you are about to give but i wanted to take just a couple of minutes to talk about my good friend chairman cummings. When you get to see the video of his passion and his willingness to engage the come to my mind the most about my good friend Elijah Cummings was two words. Fairness and passion. Those two words not only were emblematic of a friendship that the two of us had but they were also characteristic of the way he conducted himself as chairman and his Ranking Member. Had the privilege to serve with him in both of those capacities. Hes one of ours wanted to make sure that persons who didnt have a voice had the voice here in washington d. C. You being here today certainly highlights that. What i want to make sure we do which is the other thing he was always willing to do is to cut to the chase. Our private offices were diagonal from one another just down the hallway and i would go in and being the member with lessin yorty i would always go to the member with more secure seniority in we would sit down and have very frank conversations on what legislation could d and what it did mean in the political ramifications. Here is i would ask. In the spirit of the two words for my good friend effective and efficient. What i would love to hear from all the Witnesses Today are the ways that they can be most effective and efficient with legislation to make sure that every vote is counted most effective and efficient opportunity to vote. So many times what we do is we try to put a big narrative based on real problems but based on problems that may be isolated. We try to put a big narrative on it and thought i would ask all of you is in honoring my good friend Elijah Cummings gives specific examples on what you think that we can do from a disenfranchises any people or discriminatory or disenfranchises any people or group. I thank you madam chair for your leadership. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses. I yield back. Thank you bridget m. Honored to turn to our distinguished colleague from the District Of Columbia congresswoman Eleanor Holmes norton to introduce her witnesses. Congresswoman norton is a civil rights legend in her own right. As a young woman she was a member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee or sncc a Civil Rights Organization founded by young student activists including two of our distinguished witnesses diane nash and congressman norton organized civil rights and human rights as a student and as head of the new York City Human Rights Commission and is the first woman to chair the u. S. Equal Employment Opportunity commission. She has continued to champion these charges, these causes here in the United States and throughout the world as a warrior lawyer and scholar in as her colleague in the house of representatives for they recognize the distinguished representative of the district. I think my good friend chairwoman maloney for her generous words. I think her most of all for giving me an opportunity to introduce the Witnesses Today. This is normally the work of the chair of the committee. Two of these witnesses were directly engaged in work to assure that there would be no state obstacle to the right to vote and they must be very proud of how that work has in fact benefited millions of americans. They were in the thick of the Civil Rights Movement. My only regret is our colleague john lewis who though not a member of the committee would certainly be here today if he could. He of course was chair of the student on Violent Coordinating Committee and i just want to note another of our colleagues is in the audience also and of lum the alumni of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee who i met in the pacific. These witnesses will have only five minutes to appoint the rules of the committee so i hope particularly the witnesses who can give us give on what we have got to do now in renewing the Voting Rights act cant talk about their own role so that we can have something to compare what we are going through today in Voter Suppression with what they experience as student activists and their perspective from that period can best inform our work in combating the obstacles we face now in the house in renewing the Voting Rights act. Im pleased to introduce our witnesses. Reference dr. William barber president of repairs of the bridge and cochair of the Poor Peoples Campaign. Diane nash civil rights leader and one of the Founding Members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Tim jenkins also my law School Classmate and a Founding Member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. He is an attorney and activist and served on the boards of teaching for change in the Civil Rights Movement archives. Finally marcia johnsonblanco is the codirector of the Voting Rights project for the Lawyers Committee for civil rights. Thank you very much madam chair. Thank you very much. We at hope that john lewis would be here to bear witness but i ask unanimous consent to place in the record his statement. He is certainly here in leadership bends. Great thank you and i will begin now by swearing in the witnesses if youll all please rise and raise your right hand. Do you swear to affirm that the testimony youre about to give his the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god . That the records show the witnesses answered in the affirmative. Thank you and please be seated. The microphones are sensitive so please pull them to you and speak directly into it and without objection your statement will be made part of the record and with that mr. Jenkins you are now recognized to provide your testimony. Pass following my name is Timothy Jenkins in a 1960s i would like to mention one of the Founding Members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee committee referred to its initial snake. I served for the United States congress during the tumultuous events surrounding the drafting of the ultimate passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1965 i am here today to advocate needed additional remedies in the face of renewed connivance is to undercut the Historic Success of that earlier legislation and not to mention a legitimate interpretation of the constitution while i am here as a snake survivor i did not want america to forget the moral debt that the interracial into faith trio of james cheney Andrew Goodman and michael stronger who were of those the members who were murdered in 1964 in philadelphia mississippi while working is unpaid volunteers seeking to enable black citizens a right to vote we the surviving members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee find that it is still our vital duty now just does, it was when we were formed in 1960, to never allow america to falter in h