Albany, NY—In response to the Rensselaer County Board of Elections sharing voter registration information with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Cessie Alfonso, Capital Region Board Member of Citizen Action of New York, issued the following statement:
“Rensselaer County Republicans are pulling straight from the Donald Trump playbook, using scare tactics that go against the Board of Elections’ stated mission to ensure that ‘all qualified voters have the opportunity to exercise their right to vote.’ It’s voter suppression, plain and simple, and needs to be stopped immediately. The DMV and Board of Elections already have procedures in place to help verify voters’ qualifications. It’s clear that County Republicans’ real goal is to discourage undocumented people from accessing drivers’ licenses and will do anything–including discourage people from exercising their right to to vote–to push their anti-immigrant agenda.
“Voter suppression is nothing new, and American history is peppered with anti-immigration policies. Like in the past, we will challenge and beat back bigotry and racism here in Rensselaer County and across New York State.”
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