I want to thank Senator Clinton, Representative Tubbs Jones, Senator Boxer, my good friend Congressman John Lewis and all of their colleagues who have developed and support the Count Every Vote Act for their wisdom and commitment.

Forty-two years ago, as John Lewis led Jim Bevel, Amelia Boynton Robinson, Rev. Hosea Williams and nearly 600 tireless sisters and brothers crossed the Edmund Pettis Bridge and raised their voices to demand that our most fundamental right as Americans—the right that defines us as Americans—the right to participate as Americans—be granted without regard to the color of our skin, the language we speak or the birthplace of our ancestors. They demanded that the fundamental condition of citizenship, the right to vote, be conveyed equally.

The Lawyers' Committee together with our partners in the historic Election Protection Coalition, demonstrated, in detail, how the struggle of Bloody Sunday is not over. The Count Every Vote Act responds to the hundreds of thousands of American voters who called the 1-866-OUR-VOTE hotline over the past two federal election cycles to report the real problems that lead to disenfranchisement across the country. As lead legal partner in Election Protection and the organization that administers the 1-866-OUR-VOTE hotline, the Lawyers' Committee knows too well that far too many Americans are needlessly blocked from exercising their fundamental right to vote by defects in an unresponsive and insufficient election administration system. I commend the co-sponsors for looking beyond their political interests and putting the fundamental rights of all of our citizens first. This bill stands above partisanship by focusing not on the candidates but on the voter.

I am proud to stand with these men and women as they introduce a new and improved Count Every Vote Act. A bill with the same inspiration as the version introduced two years ago but improved by the wisdom of time.

I am proud to stand here, and endorse the Count Every Vote Act on behalf of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a national, non-partisan legal organization formed at the behest of two other heroes of our struggle, President John F. Kennedy and then Attorney General Bobby Kennedy, dedicated to mustering the talent and resources of the private bar to promote civil rights and equal justice:

I am proud to be here because Senator Clinton, Representative Tubbs-Jones and Senator Boxer are refusing to allow one more American to be needlessly disenfranchised by an antiquated and unresponsive registration system. They have refused to stand by while thousands of voters in black neighborhoods stand outside in the rain for hours to cast a ballot while their fellow citizens in white neighborhoods vote without delay. This bill will finally restore the citizenship rights to all Americans who have paid their debt to society. This bill will remove the inexplicable obstacles that result in countless voters every election cycle being disenfranchised because they were not directed to the right precinct. And I stand here because this bill will finally solve the problems caused by faulty and unreliable voting equipment.

We cannot let another election go by without securing these protections for America's voters. I call upon this Congress to take up these critical threshold issues before the August recess by deliberating on and passing the Count Every Vote Act.

We have a duty to support this legislation, not just because our citizenship demands it, but because we are committed to those who fought before us not to let the struggle go unfinished. This legislation builds on that commitment. I thank you for your leadership.