WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Representative Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08) spoke on the floor of the House of Representatives prior to the House sending the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act to the Senate. The legislation will restore critical protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and counter GOP-led voter suppression efforts to restrict early voting, vote-by-mail and ballot drop boxes.

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Remarks as Delivered: 

“We are here today defending our democracy for one reason, and one reason alone. 

It’s because the radical right has decided that the only way they can consistently win elections is to engage in massive voter suppression. 

The right to vote is sacred. 

The right to vote is special. 

The right to vote is sacrosanct and central to the integrity of our democracy. 

There are people who died, lost their lives, shed blood to make sure that Black people and everyone in America could vote. 

We’re not going backward. 

We’re only going to go forward. 

You better back up off of us. 

We will pass the John Robert Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. 

We will pass the Joe Manchin Freedom to Vote Act. 

We will get it to Joe Biden’s desk, and we will end the era of voter suppression in America once and for all.”