Alex Padilla: “as everybody knows, this last Sunday night, the world watched the people of Hungary achieve something very, very…”

“as everybody knows, this last Sunday night, the world watched the people of Hungary achieve something very, very powerful. They voted an autocratic leader out of office. After 16 years of ``illiberal'' democracy, after 16 years of centralized power-- crony capitalism, dismantling freedom of the press, and shredding the rule of law--Hungarian voters overwhelmingly showed up to make their voices heard with nearly 80 percent of voters casting a ballot. Meanwhile, here we are in the United States of America--in the U.S. Senate--continuing to debate a bill that would make it harder for Americans to make their voices heard in the electoral process. Here we are, 2 weeks since Donald Trump signed yet another unlawful executive order. His order would make it harder for eligible Americans to register to vote, to stay registered to vote, to exercise their fundamental rights to vote, this time targeting vote-by-mail. It is absurd; it is unconstitutional; and, most importantly, it is not going to work. American voters will not be silenced. So he can try rigging the rules of our elections to desperately try to hold on to power, but it is not going to work. He can try to silence the opposition in the media. It is not going to work.”