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Former Attorney General Eric Holder says its shamefulRepublicans are seeking to implement photo ID laws and other measures that make it more difficult to vote.

Holder, who is leading a national redistricting reform effort, accused Republicans of trying to suppress potential voters who are less likely to support them. He made the remarks during the National Action Networks annual convention in New York City on Wednesday.

Some Republicans have declared, If you cant beat em, change the rules. Make it more difficult for those least likely to support Republican candidates to vote, he said. This is done with the knowledge that by simply depressing the votes of certain groups, not even winning the majority vote of these groups, elections can in fact be effective.

The attempts in certain states to make even registration more difficult are shameful, he added.

Holder went on to cite a 2014 study by the Government Accountability Office showing that voter ID laws in Kansas and Tennessee reduced turnout among young and African-American voters.

If one were to try to find vote fraud or a rigged election system, that is exactly where it is, he said.

The comments come after Arkansas governor signed a voter ID bill last month. Iowas governor is considering a similar measure, and New Hampshire is also contemplating legislationto toughen its proof of residency requirements. There are laws in 34 statesrequiring voters to produce identification when they vote.

Holder addressed President Donald Trumps unsupported claim that millions voted illegally in the 2016 election, saying the president was fueling the perception that elections lacked integrity.

And with recent claims by Mr. Trump of rigged elections based on fraud again, without any proof, save the bluster of the candidate this mistaken belief in voter fraud becomes almost hard-wired, he said.

Such a perception, he added, makes voter suppression efforts easier.

The nations attention and laws should not be focused on these phantom, illegal voters, he said, adding that officials should instead focus on registering eligible voters.

Holder acknowledged the U.S. voting system is far from perfect. He pointed to a 2012 Pew report the same one cited by Trump to justify his claim of widespread voter fraud noting that 1 in every 8 voter registrations in the country is outdated.

This is not a result of people trying to game the system. It is an indication that the system itself is inadequate. That the system itself is at fault, Holder said.

He also called for more states to adopt automatic voter registration, so voters are automatically registered to vote whenever they have any meaningful interaction with the DMV.

Oregon became the first state in the country to implement the system last year and saw major gains in youth turnout and registration by people of color, according to one report.

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Eric Holder Rips Republicans For Trying To Make It More Difficult To ... - Huffington Post

Former Attorney General Eric Holder used his speech on the first morningof Rev. Al Sharptons National Action Network conventionto warnthat voting rightsparticularly those of communities of colorare currently under siege by Republican voter identification laws.

Holder, the first African-American to lead the U.S. Department of Justice, highlighted how courts had found GOP-backed North Carolina and Texas statutes obligating poll-goers to display a state-verified credential to be discriminatory. The appointee of former President Barack Obama accused Republicans of trying to change the rules to overcome growing demographic disadvantages.

He also made a dig at President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly assertedsans evidencethat millions of people illegally cast ballots in last Novembers election.

Over 50 years ago, the passage of perhaps the most significant civil rights legislation in our nations historythe Voting Rights Act of 1965that most basic of American rights, the right to vote, to protect and that most basic of American rights is now, as Rev. Al said, under siege, Holder said at the annual Manhattan gathering. Now to employ the language of our president, that is how elections are officially rigged by state governments controlled by his party.

History will be harsh in its assessment of those efforts, he continued.

Noting that studies have shown that actual instances of in-person voter fraud are extremely rare, Holder said the country should be making it easier for people to vote. He blasted what he described as un-American attempts to to make it more difficult for their fellow citizens to express their views.

He also argued there wasnt a need for voter identification because people are already required to in some way verify themselves at the polls. New York, for instance, has people sign their names in the voter roll.

Now let me start with a basic statement upon which youll all agree: every person attempting to vote should not show he or she is who they claim to be cause face it, too many today forget that this has always been the case, Holder continued. Let me say that again: it has always been a component to identify yourself before you cast a ballot.

Holder noted that the Census Bureau reported that in the 2008 presidential election, more than 70 million adult citizens did not vote and 60 million were not registered to vote.The real aim, he said, should be to establish automatic voter enrollment for all residents of a state.

This is one of the places where I think we should focus our efforts, he said.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Mayor Bill de Blasio have repeatedly called for reforms to New Yorks voting system, including automatic voter registration of eligible voters, same-day registration and allowing registered voters to change their party enrollment closer to primary day, calling the system outdated and regressive. Ahead of the New York primary last April, tens of thousands of people, mainly in predominantly Hispanic Sunset Park, got removed from the voter books.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo urged similar reforms during his State of the State tour in January.

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Eric Holder Rages Against 'Un-American' Voter ID Laws at Al ... - Observer

Uber has extended its internal investigation into sexual harassment claims at the company, according to sources.

The investigation, led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, was sparked by charges of sexual harassment by a former female engineer as well as charges of a wider cultural problem across Uber. Holder has asked the board for more time to complete his inquiry, the sources say.

Holder has not gotten interviews with several key figures in the investigation, including top HR execs, as yet, according to sources. He plans to do so in the coming weeks.

Some insiders are skeptical the review will yield results, but now Uber has come under more pressure after the sexual harassment scandal at Fox News led to the ouster of Bill OReilly.

Uber is worried about the tide of public opinion. "We've got to get this right," said one person close to the situation.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick hired Holder earlier this year to conduct an internal review to look into allegations of harassment and a hostile workplace culture.

Board director Arianna Huffington briefly outlined the current state of the investigation in a memo to employees that was sent out tonight:

Subject line: An update on the Holder report

Hi everybody,

When Eric Holder and Tammy Albarrn began their review, the Board subcommittee (consisting of David Bonderman, Bill Gurley, and myself) to which Eric and Tammy have been reporting on a weekly basis assured them that they would have all the support and time necessary to conduct an intensive, thorough review of Ubers workplace and culture. Eric and Tammy have now asked us for more time to complete their assessment, which includes information received from hundreds of employees through interviews and anonymous online focus groups and reflects the global scale of the companys operations. To ensure that no stone is left unturned, the Board subcommittee has granted that request and we anticipate the report by the end of May.

Thank you,

Arianna

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Uber is extending its internal investigation into sexual harassment ... - Recode

New York Daily News

LOVETT: National Dems aim to turn N.Y. state Senate to the left New York Daily News Toward that end, state Senate Deputy Democratic Minority Leader Michael Gianaris, who heads his conference's campaign operation, recently met with former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to talk about the need to flip New York to total Democratic ...

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LOVETT: National Dems aim to turn N.Y. state Senate to the left - New York Daily News

Former President Barack Obama will deliver the first public remarks of his post-presidency here in his adopted hometown of Chicago on Monday, three months after handing off the baton to President Donald Trump.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE EVENTLIVE

The 44th president is slated to speak with young leaders at an event at the University of Chicago, billed by his office as a "conversation on community organizing and civic engagement" and a part of Obama's goal to "encourage and support the next generation of leaders."

Obama's highly anticipated public appearance comes just days ahead of the symbolically significant 100-day mark for Trump --- a milestone that one Obama adviser insisted is "far from his mind." But while the ex-President does not intend to directly confront or take swipes at Trump, he does plan on being forthcoming --- if asked --- about where he stands on specific policy matters, including areas where he and Trump clearly disagree, a source said.

Issues at the top of Obama's mind these days include Obamacare, foreign policy and climate change, an adviser said.

In the final stretch of the 2016 election, Obama actively campaigned for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. More than five months after Clinton's loss, Obama is still not interested in taking center stage on politics, an adviser told CNN.

"He's going to be more of an adviser behind the scenes and not necessarily be in the forefront right now," the adviser said. "At a given time, when it's appropriate and necessary, he'll be out there. But not right now."

Obama is also sensitive to creating space for and supporting his former administration officials in their new endeavors, including former Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who is working to mentor young leaders, and former Attorney General Eric Holder, who is focused on redistricting.

Monday's event at the University of Chicago came together because of Obama's desire to speak directly with young people, a source close to the former President said. Three hundred students from universities around the Chicago area were invited to attend the event. While Obama will take the stage with six students and have a dialogue with the group, he is not expected to take questions from the audience.

On Sunday, Obama spoke at a roundtable discussion with young men from the Chicago Create Real Economic Destiny program, which aims to provide job skills and positive connections to at-risk youth. He was invited to participate by Duncan, the program's founder.

"President Obama listened to the young men's stories and shared some of the challenges that he faced growing up," Obama spokesman Kevin Lewis said of Sunday's conversation. "He expressed that he was optimistic about their potential to positively contribute to their communities and support their families because of the services provided in the program."

For the most part, Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama have steered clear of the public spotlight since leaving the White House. The former President has been spotted playing golf and vacationing on a private island in the Caribbean, but his schedule has been kept tightly under wraps.

The Obamas are also busy working on their memoirs after landing a deal with Penguin Random House that could yield them tens of millions of dollars. The couple plans to live in Washington until their younger daughter, Sasha, graduates high school in 2019. Obama is also slated to appear with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin in late May and is due to accept an award in Boston prior to that.

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Obama set to deliver first post-presidency remarks Monday - WGBA-TV