{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/cohen-responds-federal-report-showing-tennessee-voter-id-law-suppresses-african", "Cohen Responds to Federal Report Showing Tennessee Voter ID Law Suppresses African American Votes", "2014-10-09", "2014", "2014-10", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[MEMPHIS, TN] \u2013 Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today released the following statement in response to a new U.S. Government Accountability Office report finding that Tennessee\u2019s restrictive voter ID law led to reductions in voter turnout that were larger \u201camong African-American registrants than among White, Asian-American, and Hispanic registrants.\u201d The report further found that in-person voter fraud\u2014which is often cited by supporters as the reason why restrictive voter ID laws are needed in the first place\u2014is virtually non-existent.\n\u201cI have said from the beginning that the goal of restrictive state voter ID policies like Tennessee\u2019s isn\u2019t to prevent fraud, it\u2019s to make it harder for African Americans to exercise the fundamental right to vote that Americans of all stripes hold sacred,\u201d said Congressman Cohen. \u201cAnd today\u2019s authoritative report from the federal government shows exactly that: our state\u2019s law disenfranchises African Americans but the fraud it is supposed to prevent doesn\u2019t even exist. Despite the claims of its supporters, the Tennessee Voter ID law is a travesty of justice masquerading as a cure to a disease that we all know is imaginary.\u201d\nTo help alleviate the harmful and disenfranchising effects of unfair and burdensome voter ID laws like Tennessee\u2019s, Congressman Cohen has introduced his Voter ID Accessibility Act. The bill would amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, commonly referred to as the \u201cMotor Voter Law,\u201d to expand access to photo identification in states that require it for voting. Congressman Cohen\u2019s legislation would ensure that state and federal offices that provide public assistance\u2014which already offer visitors the opportunity to register to vote\u2014also notify individuals of their state\u2019s voter ID mandate and offer them the opportunity to obtain suitable identification free of charge.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/cohen-responds-federal-report-showing-tennessee-voter-id-law-suppresses-african"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9086800273507833, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}