I was struck by what Martin Luther King III said today on Morning Joe: His daughter now has fewer voting rights and personal rights regarding her body than when she was born.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. declared, “Give us the ballot and we will place judges on the benches of the South who will do justice and love mercy.”

President Johnson worked with Dr. King and other civil rights leaders to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  Johnson felt that when people’s voices are “translated into ballots…many other breakthroughs would follow.”

Voting rights were seen as a major bipartisan priority.

Unfortunately, that is no longer the case.

Last month, President Biden signed into law the marriage equality bill. On another front, the public outcry over the Supreme Court’s abortion decision was felt nationwide, even in deep red states like Kansas.

No such success or fervor met voting rights legislation. The John Lewis Voting Rights Act was defeated by a filibuster.

In Maryland, we have set an example for Congress and other states to follow regarding voting rights.

For example, it is against the law in Maryland to “willfully and knowingly…influence or attempt to influence a voter’s decision whether to go to the polls to cast a vote through the use of force, fraud, threat, menace, intimidation, bribery reward, or offer of reward.”

I sponsored the bill which made this our law.

People responsible for the robo calls urging people not to vote during the final hours of an election were convicted under this law.

This session I will be introducing legislation to extend this prohibition to actions seeking to influence a voter’s decision to vote by any lawful means, including mail-in ballots.

Everyone’s right to vote is precious.  It must be protected.