Closed driver’s license offices reopening once a month starting in November

The piece, published on AL.com, calls out the state’s Republican governor, Robert J. Bentley, for allowing 31 driver’s license offices to close there at the end of this month, which would disproportionately affect voters of color seeking the required ID to vote.

Speaking at Alabama Democratic Conference’s Convention, Clinton called the plan “a blast from the Jim Crow past” and asked for Bentley and the Republican-controlled legislature “to not only listen to their constituents, but listen to their consciences”.

Presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton is telling black Alabama Democrats in that she had champion voting rights within the White Home. The state expects a few of the needs of those who would have used such offices to be met online. “What part of democracy are these Republicans afraid of?”

“I voted to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act”, she continued, “and President George W. Bush signed it, so he clearly thought it was still needed”.

“We may be up against super pacs and billionaires, but when the election comes around, Donald Trump and the Koch brothers, and all their money, only get one vote each just like everybody else”, she said. “Fifty years after Rosa Parks sat and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. marched and John Lewis bled, it is hard to believe that we are back having this same debate” about voting rights for black Americans.

“I’m not running for my husband’s third term or President Obama’s third term”, she said. The refrain, however, sounded more like “purdy guud”. Since then, GOP-dominated states like Alabama have added obstacles to voting that have been criticized as meant to block African-American voters from exercising their right.

“For every Republican governor working to roll back voting rights, there are Americans determined to keep marching forward”, Clinton said.

The announcement to partly restore the services came after weeks of backlash over a state decision to close 31 part-time driver’s license offices in rural areas. Sewell sent a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Monday calling for a “full and thorough investigation” into the matter. Congresswoman Terri Sewell had asked the Department of Justice to investigate since Alabama requires a photo identification to vote.

Alabama’s decision to shutter driver’s license offices – which the governor said is a result of budget cuts – has drawn attention nationwide because of the state’s strict voter ID law passed previous year.

Clinton also called for expanding early voting and automatic voter registration for all citizens when they turn 18.

Clinton has made voting rights a cornerstone of her six-month-old presidential campaign.

Clinton also mentioned the time she spent in South Texas registering people, mainly Latinos, to vote.