Bonnie Watson Coleman: “In a 10-day march that started on April 11, thousands of Americans came to Washington, D.C., from all over the country…”

“In a 10-day march that started on April 11, thousands of Americans came to Washington, D.C., from all over the country to fight for one thing: our democracy. In peaceful protests right outside this building, Capitol Police arrested more than 1,300 of them as they called on this body to make basic changes to reinforce the institution that makes the United States so special. The reason they marched is simple, Mr. Speaker. In a Nation founded on the will of the people, States have systematically disenfranchised those same people and it is the will of well-funded special interests that now run our elections. We have found ourselves in this predicament primarily through inaction, the same kind of inaction poised to give the Supreme Court the longest vacancy in nearly 100 years. These folks came to the Capitol to ask our leaders to do something, and their requests are pretty simple. For starters, they want to see the restoration of the Voting Rights Act to prevent voter discrimination in the 21st century because voting discrimination does still exist, something Chief Justice Roberts acknowledged even as he struck down parts of the original Voting Rights Act. It is targeted against voters of color, those with language barriers, and those with disabilities. And Congress should be doing something about it. That is not the only call that came out of last week's rallies, though. They also want updates to our election day procedures, updates that are sorely needed.…”