September 25, 2018

Castro Statement on National Voter Registration Day

WASHINGTON—Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and First Vice Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, today released the following statement marking National Voter Registration Day:

“As we mark National Voter Registration Day, there is no more pressing of a time for our nation to cast their ballots. Voting is the basis of our democracy and it is imperative that Americans use this power to elect individuals who reflect our values, beliefs, and ideals. While we’ve seen state leaders in places like Texas challenge voting rights and actively work to suppress turnout, we can and must do more to boost turnout and breakdown voting barriers that seek to keep Americans away from the polls. We can do this by lowering the voting age, implementing automatic voter registration, providing flexibility in the workplace to ensure people can head to the polls without fear of retribution, reducing voter suppression by taking steps to ban harmful voter ID laws and restricting voter roll purges.

“This is not a partisan issue. It’s an American issue that makes up the bedrock of our vibrant democracy and affects our nation from coast to coast. Voting is a privilege denied to many across the world, and we must remember on this National Voter Registration Day that casting a ballot will secure our nation’s democracy in the decades ahead.”

Background: In 2017, a Texas federal court ruled that voter ID laws were discriminatory and in violation of the Voting Rights Act. Read my statement here.

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