H Rep Debate on Voter Assistance

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3) voter assistance

H. Rep at 14: "Hearings on HR 3ll2 ind
numerous practices and procedures which act
to registration and voting.

These practices include: . failure
manipulation of assistance to illiterates."

icate that there are
as continued barriers

to provide or abusive

H. Debate at H6851, l0/3/8I, Fenwick: "I would Iike to ask the
chairman I do not think there is sufficient protection
there for the voter. . r think that if advice is needed, both
parties can get together and advise outside and coach But
nobody ought to go into that thing unless they are blind or have
not got an arm or two arms. I mean, it is open to the most
terribre abuse and there is no protection as far as r can see.

Would the gentleman accept an amendment that would require
that any advice and help take place outside the voting booth
itself?"
Edwards: "I do not know of any States where the people go
actually into the polling booth rn addition to thatr w€
had no testimony to the effect that the abuse . mention[ed]
exists. "

H. Debate at H6965, L0/5/81, Fenwick: "To me it is shocking that
assistance can be rendered to a voter, in what should be the
secrecy of the voting booth, when the voter is not blind
If assistance is needed, it should be rendered outside the booth

. .We have Iet this support of assistance creep into the bill
and I am afraid that now it will be hard to get an amendment to
take it out. . We must keep other people out of the booth.
Just leave the voter alone in the booth. Assist them outside.
TeIl them, show them, anything you like, but not in the booth. "Note: this hras out of order, there h,as no response, and debate
on the motion continued.

H. Debate at H7001, L0/5/8I, Fenwick offers amendment:
"Sec. 208. Nothing in this act shall be construed in such a way
as to permit voting assistance to be given within the voting
booth, unless the voter is blind, or physically incapacitated."

Ewards in opposition to the amendment: "no provision of the
VRA requires that jurisdictionsallow persons assisting persons to
enter the voting booth with them. How assistance is provided is
determined by state laws and is not properly a Federal responsi-
bility. "

The amendment was adopted.

H. Debate at H7007, l0/5/8I, remarks of Ms. Collins of I11.:
"SimilarIy, a requirement that illiterate persons can only
receive voting assistance from election workers, instead of from
persons of their choice r fr&y discourage those persons from voting
if there are no minority election workers and they feel intim-
idated by white election workers. "