We were debating the Secure and Accessible Registration Act on the House floor.

Under current law, when you renew your driver’s license or file for benefits, you’re asked if you want to register to vote.

Under this bill, you would be registered to vote when you renew your license or seek benefits but asked if you did not want to be a voter.

In both instances, you would have to demonstrate your eligibility to be a voter..

One of my Republican colleagues said that one of our most cherished rights as an American is the right to be left alone, citing Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes.

This is what I said in response:

We are indeed talking about one of our most cherished rights in this debate, the fundamental right to vote. What Lyndon Johnson and many others said is the most important right, the most important civil right.

We have had a steady progression in opening up the ballot since the Voting Rights Act of ‘65. Early voting, absentee ballot. This is just the next step. There are those who’ve tried to make it more difficult to vote, but I would hope that a majority of this body believes that the fundamental right to vote is furthered by this legislation. Thank you.

I was the last person who spoke on the bill.

It passed, 93-46.

This is why I run for office: to protect the right to vote and the other rights secured to each of us in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.