Tomorrow, the Democratic Leadership of the House Judiciary Committee will hold an oversight hearing on the Voting Section of the Department of Justice, an office politicized by the Bush Administration to promote their own divisive brand of politics. Testifying at the hearing will be John Tanner, chief of the Voting Section. Earlier this month at a meeting of the National Latino Congreso, Tanner asserted that voter ID laws do not disenfranchise minorities because "minorities don't become elderly the way white people do; they die first," a statement that has been widely criticized. [FOX News.com, 10/20/07]

Under the Bush Administration's politicized Justice Department we have seen an outright attack on voting rights. While the Democratic Party has worked to protect every American's right to vote and have that vote counted, Republicans have aimed to create roadblocks for certain Americans to exercise their right to vote through restrictive voter ID laws, voter purging, and voter intimidation tactics. In their latest scheme, the Republican Administration has manipulated the mission of the Department of Justice, firing US Attorneys who were unwilling to pursue phony "voter fraud" cases, and politicized the Civil Rights Division.

DNC Chairman Howard Dean and DNC Voting Rights Institute Chair Donna Brazile issued the following joint statement before Tanner's testimony:

"The right to vote is critical to our democracy, yet under Republicans the Justice Department has waged an outright assault on this fundamental right. John Tanner's outrageous comments underscore the GOP's utter disregard for the integrity of our nation's election system and are an affront to the spirit of the Voting Rights Act. He should be fired immediately and replaced with someone who will work to make sure that all citizens are able to vote and have their vote counted. In order to even begin to undo the damage done by Bush Republicans, if confirmed as Attorney General, Judge Mukasey must commit to replacing Tanner with someone who will protect our rights, not ignore them for a partisan agenda."

Tanner Claims Voter ID Laws Don't Help Minorities Because Minorities "Die First." At an Oct. 5 meeting of the National Latino Congreso, when asked about voter ID laws Tanner said, "'Our society is such that minorities don't become elderly the way white people do; they die first,' Tanner said. 'There are inequities in health care,' Tanner continued. 'There are a variety of inequities in this country. And so anything that disproportionately impacts the elderly has the opposite impact on minorities; just the math is such as that.'" [FOX News.com, 10/20/07]