Val Demings: “Let's discuss voting in America. Mr. Speaker, 53 years ago--I believe we all know it--Congress passed the Voting Rights…”

“Let's discuss voting in America. Mr. Speaker, 53 years ago--I believe we all know it--Congress passed the Voting Rights Act to stop discriminatory practices which denied minorities the right to vote. Poll workers would ask people of color ridiculous questions like how many jelly beans are in a jar or use humiliating literacy tests and poll taxes to take away this constitutional right from good, decent people. Now here we go again. Because the President of the United States just can't accept the fact that he lost the popular vote, which he did, my Republican colleagues are using racial fears and dishonest words like ``protecting our elections'' to encourage Americans to turn against each other. If my GOP colleagues want to protect our elections, they should join us in restoring the Voting Rights Act, which was gutted in 2013. If my Republican colleagues want to protect our elections, they should join us in passing legislation to protect the special counsel. But obviously the GOP feels that they can't win on their merits, so they will suppress the vote instead, change the rules, close polling places in Black and Latino communities, remove legitimate voters from voting rolls, pass laws like the one in North Carolina that targeted African Americans with--and I quote--surgical precision. Mr. Speaker, the American people are tired of the division and distractions from the White House and the GOP to turn us against our neighbors, especially along racial lines.…”