Assistant Attorney General Perez Speaks at the George Washin

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Assistant Attorney General Perez Speaks at the George Washington University Law School Symposium

Thank you for that introduction. I am pleased to be here today to discuss the Civil Rights Division’s work to protect the fundamental civil right that is the lifeblood of our democracy: the right to vote.

One of the great privileges of my current line of work has been the opportunity to travel around the country speaking with civil rights leaders and community groups. And on many of those trips I’ve had the chance to visit some of the symbols of this country’s civil rights movement – from the Birmingham jail where Dr. King penned his famous letter, to the National Civil Rights Museum and the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, to the location of the sit-ins at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. Those visits always remind me that civil rights is a marathon relay, and the baton is in our hands.

Last December I had the opportunity to travel with Attorney General Eric Holder to Austin, Texas, where he delivered an important speech on voting rights at the LBJ Library. The Attorney General often calls the Civil Rights Division one of the crown jewels of the Department of Justice. What he’s really referring to are the laws we have the privilege and obligation to enforce: the civil rights laws are really the crown jewels of the federal legal system. And as I toured the LBJ Library with the Attorney General, and with President Johnson’s daughters and Senator Robb, we were struck by how many of those crown jewels were enacted in just a few short years during President Johnson’s administration – from the Civil Rights Act of 1964, to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, to the Fair Housing Act of 1968.

We’ve come a long way since that era – since the days of Bloody Sunday and Bull Connor. But we still have a long way to go. We can all agree that the election and re-election of the country’s first African-American President are important milestones of national progress. But as we saw during the election just last week, we continue to have work to do to ensure that all eligible citizens are able to participate in the democratic process if they choose to.

This conference gives us the opportunity to have an especially timely conversation in light of last week’s general election – we can reflect on the democratic process and on what we can do both to protect the right to vote, and to improve the voting process. We are having a spirited debate in this country about the direction of our nation. It is passionate. The stakes are high. This is the essence of democracy. Let’s continue to have that debate, and let’s make sure we do everything in our power to ensure that every single eligible voter – and only eligible voters – can cast a ballot. Let’s break down barriers for military voters – and our aggressive MOVE Act enforcement is designed to do just that. Let’s also ensure that every eligible person entering a social service office can register to vote.

Let’s work to prevent fraud, but let’s not erect new, unnecessary requirements that have a discriminatory impact. Let’s have a debate on the merits without trying to make it harder for our perceived opponents to vote.

With that in mind, I wanted to take the opportunity of this conference to discuss just a few areas where we can and should be working together to improve our electoral system and combat discrimination.