Florida’s Voter Suppression Law to be Subject of Senate Field Hearing

Many in Congress have been silent on the issue of voter suppression laws, but one senator has made it his mission to expose them for what they are: the thinly veiled disenfranchisement of minority populations. Today, Sen. Bill Nelson (D–Fla.) announced that he will hold a Senate field hearing to find out whether states have enacted laws to suppress voter turnout. The announcement comes on the heels of his request last month for Attorney General Eric Holder to open an investigation into whether the law in Florida (HB 1355)—and similar laws in more than a dozen other states—is part of a larger effort to suppress voter turnout among minorities and senior citizens in the 2012 general election. The hearing is scheduled for January 27, 2012 in Tampa.