Colin Allred: “I thank the gentleman for his comments. Mr. Speaker, I am here today to talk about the foundation of our democracy: the…”

“I thank the gentleman for his comments. Mr. Speaker, I am here today to talk about the foundation of our democracy: the right to vote and why we must protect it. I want to begin just by telling a little bit about me. My story is somewhat unique. I didn't take the traditional path to Congress. Before I got here, I played in the NFL for 5 years as a linebacker for the Tennessee Titans. After hurting my neck, I decided to pursue my other dream, which was to become a voting rights attorney, a civil rights attorney. While I was in law school, I decided to focus on voting rights because of what I saw happening in my home State of Texas where it was becoming harder to vote as the State was becoming more and more diverse. After I came back to Texas, I worked doing voter protection in 2014, setting up poll watcher programs across the State of Texas, trying to help voters deal with the new voter ID law that had just been put in place and that I knew was going to deeply impact so many Texans. Then I became a voting rights litigator suing States like Ohio and Wisconsin for the laws that they passed making it harder for the people in their States to vote. Then I was lucky enough to rejoin the Obama administration and finish out that administration. I decided to come home and run for Congress in my hometown and my home district where I was born and raised. In 2018, I ran against an opponent who had been unopposed in 2016.…”