Retirees Discuss Fight Against Voter Suppression at Congresswoman Johnson's Office

Gene Lantz, Judy Bryant, and Leah Witherspoon (pictured) went to the office of Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson on February 21 to discuss plans to fight voter suppression in Texas. Noted activist Jan Sanders joined us just as we sat down with Congresswoman's District Director, Rod Givens, and her Constituency Services Liaison, J. Collin Chlebak. The occasion was National Lobby Week as declared by the national Alliance for Retired Americans, but the issues of Social Security, Pensions, and health care did not take up a lot of time, because Copngresswoman Johnson has been the retirees' champion on these issues all along. She is up-to-the minute on the issues, and has already had a consultation with management at American Airlines, where 130,000 employees are threatened with having their pensions dumped off on the government's backup provider, the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation. Congresswoman, like the Texas Alliance, does not want to see that pension dumping happen.

The talk turned quickly to voter suppression. Congresswoman has been working to help Texans overcome the devastation that may come from the "Voter ID" bill passed in the last session. We took note that many states have similar laws. Although no "Voter ID" law is worse than  ours, and the proposed redistricting that came out of the Texas legislature is as undemocratic as any anywhere, there are other forms of voter suppression.  Some states have passed laws limiting voter registration and some even attempt to levy stiff fines on volunteers who register voters.

Congresswoman Johnson's assistants agree with the Texas Alliance that the solution for seniors over 65 is vote-by-mail. We agreed to promote the idea as widely as possible. See our "Voting in Texas" section on this site. We also noted that the Texas Voter ID law would make it extremely difficult for college students to vote if they are not living at home. Their drivers' license is likely to reflect their home address, whereas they actually may live in college dormitories miles away. Previously, they could establish their residence with their student ID cards, but the new law will cancel that idea; consequently vote-by-mail is also the solution for them. Thus, we concluded, students and seniors should be working together to oppose voter suppression and to encourage eligible people to vote by mail.

Jan Sanders talked about how outrageous the Texas law actually is. She said that there are 606,000 registered voters without photo ID's now, and that is even before any voter registrtion drives have had any effect. Those 606,000 people will be penalized by having to go and get photo ID's just to be able to vote. In many cases, they will have to get certified copies of their birth certificate, which costs $22. "It's just another poll tax!" said Sanders.

The retirees plan a series of videos and press conferences. They will also look for student groups, civil rights organizations, and civil liberties organizations who want to join the fight against voter suppression. They will also continue visiting Congressional offices in North Texas. They have an appointment at Congressman Sessions' office for Monday, February 27, at 2 PM. Mr Sessions requires the names of everyone who will visit, so please contact Gene Lantz at labordallas@sbcglobal.net in order to join the delegation.