Freedom to Vote Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, in Spanish, we say ``en Espanol,'' but I know the Presiding Officer knew that from Colorado.

I rise today, as we mark the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month, to reflect on a historic leader whose work inspires me in this fight for voting rights and the work that we have before us.

Willie Velasquez, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, dedicated his life to improving the freedom to vote in Latino communities.

Everywhere he went, he brought a simple motto. You might have heard it.

(English translation of the statement made in Spanish is as follows:)

``Your vote is your voice.''

Willie Velasquez was born in 1944 and grew up in a Latino community in Texas which suffered from the harms of segregation, redlining, and government neglect. He understood that the path to greater recognition for Latinos was through participation in our democracy. So Willie set out to make sure Latinos across the Southwest could participate.

In 1974, Willie Velasquez founded his groundbreaking organization, the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project. Through his efforts, Willie helped bring the vote--and a powerful voice--to many Latino communities.

Now, Willie's successes were built on the hard-earned victories of those of past civil rights leaders. Especially critical was Congress's 1975 extension of the Voting Rights Act--yes, a bipartisan reauthorization of the Federal Voting Rights Act--which established protections for language minorities, like Spanish speakers. In just 10 years, with Willie's and other activists' hard work on the ground, the number of Latinos registered to vote nearly doubled, and in the same 10 years, the number of Latinos holding elected office also nearly doubled.

That is the power of the freedom to vote and the power of what we can do here in the Senate and here in Congress--give every American a voice in our democracy.

Now, in his time, Willie fought to do exactly this, like the generations of Americans of all ages, colors, creeds, and genders who came before him. Their efforts reflect a fundamental truth about our country: We are stronger when more Americans can vote, and we are stronger when all communities have a say in government. But the path to realizing our highest ideals has never been easy. From a convention hall in Seneca Falls to a bridge in Selma, from Willie's home in San Antonio, TX, to this very Chamber, the voting rights' victories of each generation have been hard-fought and hard-won, and it is no different today.

In recent months, we have seen the latest challenge to the core of our democracy: scores of new laws proposed by Republican State legislatures to target the past five decades of gains in voting rights; cynical politicians, spreading false claims of voter fraud because they fear losing in a fair election. You can see the danger of it even in my home State of California where, just yesterday, we held a recall election. Republicans ran a campaign of disinformation, spreading baseless claims of massive voter fraud before the polls even closed, before they even opened, and long before a single ballot was even counted. It is straight out of Donald Trump's playbook--the same playbook that perpetuated the Big Lie and fueled the domestic terrorism that the world witnessed on January 6.

It is no coincidence that the cynical claims of voter fraud are often targeted at communities of color. In the face of these challenges, we must overcome, together, again. We must renew our collective fight for our democracy. It is up to us. The time is now to get the job done.

It is an honor to lead the Freedom to Vote Act alongside my colleagues Senators Klobuchar, Merkley, Warnock, Manchin, King, Tester, and Kaine.

The Freedom to Vote Act will make it easier for all eligible citizens to register to vote and to cast their ballots. This bill will set a baseline of protections for voters across the country, with commonsense, proven reforms that have already been successfully implemented in blue and red States across the country. I urge all of my colleagues to join us and vote to strengthen our democracy.

As the first Latino to represent California in this body, in the U.S. Senate, I am proud to be spending this Hispanic Heritage Month fighting for voting rights because so many of our community's gains have been achieved through political participation and representation. The fight to expand voting rights is, indeed, part of our heritage. It is also a tradition that unites Americans because we have come together, generation after generation, to expand the promise of our democracy for all. Yes, we are strongest when every eligible voter can make their voice heard.

``Your vote is your voice.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source