In Alabama, Clinton goes after Republicans on voting rights

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks during a meeting of the Alabama Democratic Conference in Hoover, Ala., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2015. Clinton tells black Alabama Democrats that she'd champion voting rights in the White House. She says Republicans are dismantling the progress of the civil rights movement. (AP Photo/ Mark Almond) Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks during a meeting of the Alabama Democratic Conference in Hoover, Ala., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2015. Clinton tells black Alabama Democrats that she'd champion voting rights in the White House. She says Republicans are dismantling the progress of the civil rights movement. (AP Photo/ Mark Almond)

By Associated Press October 17, 2015 3 min read

HOOVER, Ala. (AP) – Near the heart of the civil rights movement, presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton roused black Alabama Democrats on Saturday with a pledge to champion voting rights and accusations that Republicans are dismantling generations of racial progress.

Clinton criticized Alabama’s Republican governor, Robert Bentley, for closing drivers licenses offices in 31 counties, many of them majority African-American. Alabama requires photo identification to vote.

“This is a blast from the Jim Crow past,” she told about 700 people at a luncheon of the Alabama Democratic Conference, the largest caucus of the state Democratic Party.

Clinton also mocked Republican presidential candidates Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush for their opposition to restoring Voting Rights Act provisions struck down by the Supreme Court in 2013, and she chided Ohio Gov. John Kasich for curtailing early voting in his state.

“What part of democracy are these Republicans so afraid of?” Clinton asked. “I’ve won elections, and I’ve lost elections, but I sure feel better when as many people as possible show up and vote.”