Washington D.C. — The AAA-Fund condemns the appalling comments of John Tanner, chief of the Justice Department's Voting Rights Division. At a recent Los Angeles event, Tanner argued that a discriminatory voter-identification law actually did not discriminate against minorities, because minorities have shorter-than-average lifespans.

In remarks to the National Latino Congreso, Tanner defended his controversial decision to approve a Georgia law requiring photo identification to vote, noting that it is "primarily elderly persons" who are affected by a photo ID requirement and concluding: "Of course . . . that also ties in to the racial aspect, because our society is such that minorities don't become elderly. The way white people do. They die first . . . And so anything that disproportionately impacts the elderly, has the opposite impact on minorities — just the math is such as that."

"While it is a sad fact that the average lifespan of certain minority groups is significantly lower than that of white Americans, Tanner's attempt to exploit this reality to justify a discriminatory voter law — with the aid of spurious logic and broad stereotypes — is the height of chutzpah," said Gautam Dutta, Executive Director of the AAA-Fund.

Tanner's comments have reignited the controversy regarding his 2005 decision to provide "pre-clearance" for the Georgia voter-identification law over the objections of four of his division's five career officials. Those officials had concluded, in an internal memorandum, that "the totality of the evidence" indicates that the law would "disparately impact" African-Americans.

"Voter identification laws can chill the ability of all minorities, including Asian Pacific Americans, to exercise their right to vote," added Dutta. "It is vital that these laws be soundly scrutinized for any discriminatory effect, and it is deeply disturbing that an official responsible for enforcing civil rights would ignore and trivialize such concerns."

A federal district court judge ultimately issued an injunction barring enforcement of the law, comparing it to a Jim Crow-era poll ax. A three-judge panel on a federal appellate court — including two Bush appointees — upheld the injunction.

The Georgia law would have placed stringent limits on the forms of identification that voters would have to present at the polls. According to the Washington Post, voters without a driver's license or other photo identification would have been required to obtain a special digital identification card, costing $20 for five years and obtainable at motor vehicle offices in only 59 of the state's 159 counties.

The AAA-Fund is a national Democratic political organization whose goal is to increase the voice of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) in local, state and federal government, by encouraging AAPIs to volunteer on campaigns, raise money for candidates, and run for political office.