Albert Russell Wynn: “I rise to call on my Republican colleagues to bring up and pass the renewal of the Voting Rights Act. On March 7, 1965…”

“I rise to call on my Republican colleagues to bring up and pass the renewal of the Voting Rights Act. On March 7, 1965, our colleague, John Lewis, and 500 civil rights activists marched from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. They paved the way for the Voting Rights Act. My grandmother, Bella Russell, lives in Warren County, North Carolina. She is 98 years old. She knows all about the need for the Voting Rights Act. She experienced literacy tests and intimidation and other barriers to voting. We needed the Voting Rights Act then and we need it today. We need it today because in my State of Maryland, people are still being told you have to pay all of your late fees on your rent in order to vote; you have to pay your parking tickets to vote. Don't forget to vote on Wednesday. People are still being intimidated. We need the Voting Rights Act as an effective check on those who would deter other Americans from exercising their important right to vote. There are those who would challenge the preclearance provision, but I maintain if you are not doing anything wrong, if you are not impeding the right to vote, then preclearance is not a burden. In America, we need to encourage more people to vote, not less. ____________________”