The War on Voting

[man] texas is ground zero for the fight for the freedomto vote around the country,and we need to start acting like it.- we will not allow you to [indistinct] jim crow 2.0.[woman speaking in spanish]- we are not going back to the plantations.- our trustees are gonna fight, our teachers are gonna fight,and our kids are gonna fight.[woman] this isn't just a texas issue,this is a democracy issue.- the path that we go forth with my fist,until justice rolls down like watersand righteousness, like a mighty stream.mamma said not break habitand his trumpet acts till lights out,with the fist of justice and unity.- no justice, no peace.[applause and cheering]♪[music]♪ ♪♪[woman singing][people chanting]- we're just making our way up to the capitol right nowwith these marchers. if you turn back,you can still see people still coming in.[man] those republicans who'd rather defend insurrectionthan support our democracy, these rigged voting lawsin georgia, in florida, and a dozen other statesare gonna make it harder for so many millionsof our fellow americans to vote.are we gonna fight for the right to vote?[people] yes![man] this is james crow esquire.he went to school, got a law degree,and a degree in statistics,and he has come back to try to take our ever-progressivevoice in this nation.[applause and cheering]this is the battle: right versus wrong.and the right time to do right is right now.[ramos] a bitter battle over the ballot box in america.states across the country are rewriting their voting laws.- this is a shameless, unabashed assaulton people's voting rights.- this is all about consolidating power,a national power-grab, to take away the voicesfrom our local elections officialsand our state elections officials.- this law is designed, i believe,to make it harder for you to voteso that you don't vote.[ramos] thirty new laws have been enactedin 18 states just this year.- what's happening in texas is going to affect usno matter where we live, because if this kindof voter suppression is allowed to continue,then it's gonna come to your state as well.they've already signed voter suppression billsin the law in georgia, in florida, in iowa,and a dozen other states, and they're pending in 40 more.[ramos] texas, the state with the largest black populationin the country, is now the frontline.the governor is using a special legislative sessionto try to pass restrictive new voting billsfor a second time.- we saw these bills, they tried to pass them in the regularsession, they couldn't do it, and they've just brought backthe same bills again.- so the voting laws in texas make this the toughest statein which to vote. they've closed hundreds of polling places,we have a form of voter id that has disenfranchisedhundreds of thousands, and a system of gerrymanderingthat has drawn people out of their district,out of the democracy, out of a reason to vote.on top of that, they're trying to make it harder for thosewith disabilities to vote, those in the urban counties,the very young and the very old.[ramos] the texas bills would eliminate 24-hour voting,drive-through voting, and remove restrictionson partisan poll watchers.- in harris county in houston, where i live,voters of color use drive-through votingand overnight voting more than white voters.so by removing those voting options,you're targeting those kinds of voters.- it's about to get a lot worse,with new provisions that would, for example,allow partisan poll watchers free reigninside of a polling place to intimidate or mess withthe voters who are inside. and, unfortunately,there is a very long and infamous historyof that happening here in texas.- they've actually openly said it,that they plan on putting whatever measures in placeto cheat. my grandfather used to say,"if it quacks like a duck, walks like a duck, it's a duck."the bottom line is this is voter suppression.[ramos] texas' house democrats walked outon the first session, denying a quorum for the bill to pass.they just did it again during a special session,and now face arrest.- we are here in dc, our nation's capital,because we want to protect the civil right to votefor millions of texans.we were quite literally forced to move and leavethe state of texas.[ramos] the texas efforts follow the leadof other restrictive voting bills passed in arizona,florida, and georgia.2020 featured record voter participationdespite a pandemic.all 50 states have certified their election results.there are no documented instancesof mass voter fraud.so, why push these bills now?- no other election has ever been heldunder such scrutiny, such high standards.the big lie is just that, a big lie.[applause and cheering][ramos] mr. trump, are you gonna recognize finallythat you lost the election?- we won the election. - no, no, you lost the election.you lost the electoral college.when are you gonna recognize that?former president trump continues to insist falselythat he won the 2020 presidential race.that's what many people call "the big lie."[man] and he told the country that the election fraudwas in phoenix, arizona, a mexican-american majoritycommunity, he said it was in detroit, philadelphia,in atlanta, african-american majority communities.in other words, he's blaming non-existent election fraudon black and brown communities across the country.[ramos] one answer for these state billswould be sweeping voting rights reform at the federal level.and the democrats have responded by draftingthe "for the people act"and the "john lewis voting rights act."- we have to have federal legislationthat sets the bar so that, no matter where you live,whether it is in texas, that has an atrocious historyaround racism and voter suppression,or in alabama or iowa, that your right as a voter,as a citizen in this country, will be protected.- what we emphasize to the presidentis that our backs are against the wall.this is the moment, there is no more time.we must have legislation.- so we've got to do everything we can with what we have,where we are right now and stop thisand pass the "for the people act."that's the challenge before us right now.[ramos] but the path for these bills is largely blockedin the senate.[people chanting][ramos] these federal bills can still be pushed throughby eliminating the filibuster, a move president bidenand some moderate democrats are unwilling to make.- we use 51 votes to put supreme court justice on the benchfor life.you mean to tell me we can't use 51 votes to save the lifeof the democracy? [man] yeah.[ramos] many of these new voting billsare facing court challenges.- today the department of justiceis suing the state of georgia.[ramos] but those efforts were dealt a serious setbackthanks to a recent supreme court decisionof holding new measures in arizona.despite that setback, civil rights groupsmay challenge the texas bills should they pass.- what do we want? - justice!- when do we want it? - now!- if we don't get it! - shut it down!- we will not back down, we will not back out.and we will not back up. 'cause we're defiant.we gave you the power, use it![woman] this is our moment in history,this is the voting rights fight of our lifetimes.and we need to put people over politicsand let the people vote. thank you.[applause and cheering]- we're still logically right. we're historically right.we're constitutionally right.and you've got to go home because truth is on our side.♪[music]♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪