[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 27, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E829]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     FIGHTING FOR THE RIGHT TO VOTE

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. MAXINE WATERS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 26, 2021

  Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, let me start off by making one thing 
clear. The 15th amendment of the United States Constitution says, ``The 
right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or 
abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, 
color, or previous condition of servitude.''
  And so, I challenge the Supreme Court's decision that gutted Section 
5 of the Voting Rights Act. The Supreme Court's interpretation does the 
exact opposite of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution. But since the 
2020 election that broke voter participation records and gave us a 
democratic majority, Georgia has been ground-zero for voter suppression 
efforts in this country.
  Because Black people came out to vote in record numbers, Republican 
lawmakers in Georgia moved with lightning speed and surgical precision 
to restrict voting rights. State lawmakers reached deep into their bag 
of tricks, including eliminating ballot drop box locations, limiting 
voting days and hours, instituting strict ID requirements, and even 
going as far as trying to make it a crime to distribute food and water 
to people waiting in long voting lines. It's clear that these laws 
aren't about protecting voters. It's about punishing voters for 
exercising their right to vote.
  But it's not only Georgia. Since Election Day, we have been 
experiencing an all-out anti-democratic assault on our voting rights. 
Eighteen states, all led by Republican governors, have enacted voter 
suppression laws because they know that when we vote, they lose. 
They're playing scared, but we have got to play smart.
  We have seen this type of backlash before. And just as we did in the 
1960's, we must pass new civil rights legislation, including the John 
Lewis Voting Rights Act and the For the People Act, to protect and 
expand voting rights.
  The legislation named after my dear friend and civil rights icon, the 
late Congressman John Lewis, would restore the Voting Rights Act to its 
full strength, and stem the tide against this flood of voter 
suppression laws.
  The For The People Act establishes automatic voter registration. It 
prohibits the most common forms of voter roll purges. It increases 
access to the polls. It restores voting rights for the formerly 
incarcerated, among many other democracy saving provisions.
  After an election filled with big lies and scare tactics, that 
culminated in the violent January 6 insurrection, the American people 
deserve hard assurances that their vote and their voice will continue 
to count. So, if the Senate needs to eliminate the filibuster to 
protect voting rights, then that is exactly what it must do.
  This fight that we are in to protect our sacred right to vote is 
critical and urgent. Our democracy is on the line, and we are not 
without options to try and save it.