DENVER—Former Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo says his remark at a Tea Party convention that a “civics-literacy” test be adminstered before somebody is allowed to vote isn’t aimed at any particular group.
Tancredo made the remark Thursday as he said President Barack Obama was elected because of “people who could not even spell the word ‘vote’ or say it in English.”
Poll tests were previously used to prevent blacks from voting and were banned by the 1964 Voting Rights Act.
State House Speaker Terrance Carroll, the first black speaker in Colorado history, told The Denver Post that such tests were “hateful.” Tancredo says his remarks at the convention in Nashville, Tenn., were based on his desire to ensure participation only from voters who understand the government.
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Information from: The Denver Post,
