growing popularity over the years covering women in u.s. history. >> women and girls are hungry for role models, we keep hearing representation is important and that is so true, the amount of e-mails and other messages that we get from very young girls and/or their mothers saying how the subject that we cover or the very fact that they hear two women speaking in the format and how it's affected them. >> all throughout history women have typically been the women behind the man and what we get to do here is we get to talk about the men behind the women that focus on their life until the story from her point of view and the fact that we get to do

that we hope it inspires people to do the same. >> the history chicks sunday 8:00 p.m. eastern on q&a you can also listen to q&a as a podcast, where you get your podcast. >> are guesses michael waldman he is with the new york university law school and president of the brennan center for justice good morning, great to be with you. >> tell us what is the center for justice and how we organize and fund it. >> we are nonpartisan law ande policy institute we work to strengthen and reform the system of democracy of justice in the united states we think they urgently need repair so they weren't for all americans we are funded not by the university but private supporters 14000 at last count and we are deeply concerned about the assault on voting that's taken place across

the country. >> your website says american facing an overwhelming legislative assault, those are the words that you use on voting rights explain what you're seeing out there. >> take about for starters what we had last year it was something of a civic miracle despite the pandemic and voter suppression and despite lies it was the highest voter turnout since 190,101,000,000 people voted early or by mail it was a huge success and president trump's own security experts confirm it was the most secure election and memory. in all reports it looked at the rejected notion of fraud that affected the election we should be celebrating that but instead we see states all across the country a tidal wave of new efforts to restrictfo the vote e brennan center research shows 255 proposed laws at last count

and four out of five states that would cut back on voting, this is the biggest push since the jim crow era and don't make any mistakes many of these proposals are aimed at black voters and brown voters and young people and poor people. it would really be a terrible thing to see this assault succeed on our democracy. >> put the phone number is at the bottom of the screen for our newest guest michael a separate line for democrats and republicans and independents will talk for a few minutes and get you back into the program and the conversation.ta talk toin us about your thoughts on h.r.1 for the people back to you can watch the house debate at c-span.org i should tell the viewers the house passed the bill is going into the hearing process, what do you like and what are thehe provisions that feel to most.es >> i think it's a very important

and very positive bill i strongly supported what for the people act would do for starters it's important to understand people who are worried about this attack that is taking place in the states right now it would stop the cold congress has the power to do that constitutionally and legally and what it means is the political will to do it but it goes beyond that what this would do is modernize and strengthen the institutions of our elections and our democracy. it would take automatic voter registration which is belonged in 19 states and for anybody unless they opt out and automatically register to vote make that the law of the land it would set a national floor so everybody has access to early voting and everybody has access if they wanted to vote by mail, not required but if they want regardless of what state you live in it would basically

strengthen our election in a way that is really important it would also be in partisan gerrymandering in both political parties equally gerrymander when they can were about to enter in a few months into the redistricting cycle where the politicians draw the line andor that can last for a decade and it would reform money in politics which we know has brought so much corruption and so much of an extra voice for big money in her system. it does these things are urgent and vital under any circumstances and witnessing what's going on in the states, witnessing the big lie that president trump put forward that the election was stolen and our democracy is a legitimate and the insurrection, this is not a good thing to do, this is something i would suggest congress has to do. >> catherine is on the line for

virginia democratic line. good morning good morning, i'm a supporter of h.r.1 and i think the brennan center for the support what i would like you to address is a false narrative that there was election fraud and really the issue is voter suppression and restricting voting women didn't get the right until 1920 and people of color didn't get until relate until the late 60s what we seen in the last couple of year is trying to restrict voting in a false narrative that the trump administration and its allies created that were all trying to argue election fraud when the real issue is voter suppression and the commission collapsed in 2018 with voter fraud in the false narrative i would like yok to address and a shut down and in rural areas people have to

have access to the ballots that may have to drive long distances. i would like you to address those and really point out the issue is voter suppression and strengthen our democracy. i think you. >> thank you catherine. >> reg agree with the caller we have to fight with our country's history meant to make sure everybody gets their voice heard in their seat at the table and when we started the table with regard to democracy and only men who had property were allowed to vote we work so hard to expand that and just as often and what were seen today we all ought to be looking for the real threat to democracy which is efforts that would make it harder for many people to vote and as a statistical matter i know why people are worried about this a

statistical matter you're more likely to be struck by lightning then to commit voter fraud in the united states. that was confirmed repeatedly in the last election by president trump's own security experts by 60 ports that looked 6 at this d even when the lawyers for trump went into court and they were under oath and they had to say the truth or get in trouble and they said were not talking about fraud. this is just the tactic used to create concern and fear to justify rolling back vital voting rights and vital protections. i think we all have an interest in election security and election integrity but to make sure eligible voters have the right to vote unimpeded is one of the most important concerns that we can push. >> let's hear in maryland on the republican line. >> good morning thank you for

the show. this is a real hot button issue for me and it has driven me absolutely insane i watched every state legislature hearing on voting irregularity and i was shocked and heartbroken at what i saw hundreds of my fellow americans testified under oath with sworn affidavits on their own time in their own dime the media will not cover it, no judge had the balls to hear the evidence, is it acceptable to have more ballots cast then registered voters? is it acceptable for democrats to cheer when republican poll workers are forced out of the polling location. i don't understand why we can't even ask the question.

elizabeth: let's get a response from our guest michael. >> i hear the concern from the caller and the sincerity in her concern and that makes me doubly angry at the politicians who cynically lied to her and others about what's going on again it was republican and democratic judges judges appointed by president trump and others who said in 60 cases, you know what the selection was strong and secure, it was the federal government, the trump administration own security experts and it was attorney general barr who used it to describe these claims of misconduct. but what i would say we have to hold accountable the politicians who knowingly peddled the big lie to sincere americans like thele caller and to others who

attacked our capital and our democracy. i think what we as americans to becr truly patriotic have to do is to pull together and say what can we do to strengthen our democracy not to make it harder for other people to vote butnope make it so in our current modern age have the ability to truly participate in our democracy. vote by mail tens of millions of people have used it was something that republicans as well as democrats supported and used in the recent election and it's been done with very smooth and encouraging results and we ought to be looking what's worked well and make sure that'l available to everybody and i hear the caller and it makes me all the more unhappy with the politicians for their own personal reasons to secure people about what happened in the election. >> michael walden the university of harvard law school in the

justice joining from new york thisna morning, take a deeper lk around the country the 200 plus laws that are on the books or being pursued. if you could pick one or two that concern you the most what are they and where are they? >> in a lot of places this very normal thing of absentee balloting or voting by mail which much of the country did already there is an intent to roll it back, let's take a look at georgia, georgia is a place where the new proposed voting laws are very carefully and rather obviously targeted at black voters and for partisan advantage, in georgia your bipartisan support for vote by mail, no excuse absentee balloting, not that you had to but you could. what it would do it would in vote by mail and no excuse

absentee balloting for people under 65, people over 65 are likely to be white andan republican than the rest of the electorate, it would repeal automatic voter registration which is a very successful program put in place by governor brian kemp when he was a secretary state of georgia and a republican he would end early voting but not all on a sunday before election day that is the day that black churches have souls to the polls organizing it would even make itll a crime to hand out a bottle of water somebody weighted down line and those unfortunately are in minority communities much more than other communities. that is a petri dish of all of the things that are being done that don't have a justification but have a really significant impact especially on voters of

color there was a state legislatureer in arizona one of the people pushing the laws that said it out loud they said democrats, some people want to be able to vote in what matters is not the quantity but the quality, not everybody should be able to vote, that is not the attitude in 2021 and what legal challenges are you seeing or expecting on these laws they are concerned about right now to stop the legislature from passing them there is mounting growing public concern and anger in the politics of this we seen this in georgia and other places that people don't like it when you're trying to take away their right to vote or make it harder for them to vote and it can lead to a political backlash there's a site going on and there may be

challenges from the justice .department and one of the thins that can be done that i most focused on as we discussed a little bit is congress can pass before the people act as one -- h.r.1 which would stop the laws and the tracks, they would say the everybody wherever you live should have enough right and then affability to vote by mail and enough ability to havel eay voting and other things it should not matter whicht political party controls the state legislature in any moment in some state to determine what your right to vote is on a basic and fundamental way. >> we hear from andy in north carolina independent line, good morning. >> please give me a moment i am the daughter of a civics teacher in my late father is sitting in his earn. regarding to the polls they need

to include the hispanicon population and a lot of them are worried about catholics and i think they also have the polls and one more point, two more points the late chief justice william rehnquist is to intimidate voters in arizona and his main comment is why want to play paul from 1980 and giving a talk at the heritage foundation which i think he found it but the quote goes like this, how many of you good christians have what i call the good government syndrome they want everybody to vote, i don't want everyone to vote, please play that video. i think that is it. >> thank you for calling.

>> the caller any is exactly right, that was a speech given in august of 1980 and a very important meeting with clergy in houston. he said what andy described and he was not pundit he founded the heritage foundation and the legislative exchange council and it continues to agitate for what until laws to make it harder for other makers to vote and it's been a good push and pull throughout american history and we know and we made in south for black people to vote for a century and how hard we make it for immigrants to vote and we had a census that actually everybody who is eligible should have the ability to vote in one person one vote that was

something republicans and democrats together agreed on, the last time the voting rights act was reauthorized by congress the senate passed and 98 - 0 and george w. bush probably signed it and is quite resilience become a mobilizing andha organizing issue for politicians that i would say whenak politicians have to make the effort based on restricting the vote by the other side rather than taking arguments to the public that is a sign of a long-term week and. elizabeth: back to h.r.1 that we've been talking about and s1 georgia congressman have republican explain his opposition to the major h.r.1 let's take a look and get your response. >> i raise not only in opposition to this bill but in strong opposition especially to the attempt to nationalize our

federal election and the notion that people like joseph kirk the election superintendent who has done a phenomenal job ministering or election is not as qualified as people here in this room is how to run an election and bureaucrats in the idea up here can administer an election better than our election supervisor can and has is a notion beyond compare. this flies in the face of our founders especially those of the constitutional convention and you see there was arguments against article one section for the election clause because the sphere that was stated is those in power could use that power to manipulate elections to keep them in power and that one day someone would use this authority

to manipulate the election so they can maintain power. madam speaker i believe we have arrived alexander hamilton argued the opposite side is important that institutions of government preserve themselves but this was a backup, it was a backup that they had the priority to run their own elections and he said it should only be used when extra ordinary circumstances might render necessary and we are not and that extraordinary circumstance and can affect the extraordinary circumstance that will be stated over and over again and how we ran the election in 2020 under covid. i many of the provisions in thisal legislation including universal ballots and voter id lawss and mandated ballot harvesting were changes made by states illegally in 2020 because the problems that we saw.ha >> michael waldman of the

brennan center for justice your reaction. >> there's so many representations it's hard to choose but i would make a few points. t counties and states run elections in our country and both parties did a tremendous job under circumstances over the past year. but congress does have the power to set national standards to measure people'sioe rights are protected and when they round there election they don't do iti in a waya that is unfair, cuttg people out and not reflecting the best of how we run modern elections. this legislation by bureaucrats in washington they are run by states and counties. but with national standards to make sure we have full opportunity to participate in our democracy. the gentleman in the congressman i am afraid misread the constitutional convention and the story of our constitution. in fact james mattis insisted on having what is called the

election clause in the constitution which gives states initially the ability to set time, place and manner of election but gives congress the power to override purse iso because james mattis andri the others felt that state legislatures would be captured by a fraction impasse that we would now call voter suppression laws or gerrymandering. . . . that then, but that's what they're talking about. that there needs to be checks and balances. our national government needed to make sure that people had the effective right to vote. that is what this legislation would do. it would set national standards and modernize our elections in a way that is fair to everyone. what we see with our naked eyes, right in front of us, the racially driven and partisan

efforts to restrict the vote across the country. if we aren't happy with that, if we aren't satisfied that's the way to >> if we are not satisfied that that is the way to go, that can be problematic. >> let's take a call. >> i haven't heard anybody i talking about the politician from miami. he paid somebody to get on the ballot so that he could take votes away from him. and they took the votes away from another senator and they arrested him yesterday and they have not said anything about politics or paying people and

elections. people can be scattered all over the place. why hasn't anyone addressed this?l >> i'm afraid that i'm not familiar with that story in that situation. that kind of thing has been known to happen and it is an example and we forget to look at the politicians do their best to manipulatete things. and we cannot offer much background order comment, except to say that i would say that kind of thing is pretty rare these days.

and more secure like they have been, we have real things to worry about, we sought in 2016, certainly with russia it is best to interfere in our elections. we wanted more from the intelligence community this week from russiaa and iran. trying to influence the election in many ways. that's the kind of security that we are working on and that includes important bipartisan legislation to make sure that states and counties have the most secure voter registration lists that they can have. >> and "the washington post", the headline was from the state senator, starting to talk about the votes that the gop narrowly had won the race with. us more about your

efforts moving forward with these bills that are in progress around the country and how you plan to fight them? >> first off, we are working to expose them and make sure that people know about them. folks can certainly lead the work and we have newsletters and other ways to stay in touch. we are working with groups in the states on the ground, in georgia, as well as others who are working to fight these laws, and wear are working to pass for the people act, the voting rights enactment as well that would restore the voting rights of 1965 and again the answer in the end is to make sure that we have one national dinner tour doesn't matter who you are or if

you are black or white or latino or anything else, if you are eligible, we will make it as easy as possible so that we can all have our voices heard in a democracy. >> thank you so much for your time. >> thank you. >> tonight on c-span2. the irs commissioner testifies on the tax filing season before a house ways and means subcommittee. and then the house intelligence committee chair adam schiff has more on the global rise of authoritarianism. leader of the house foreign affairs subcommittee looks at the u.s. policy toward china, taiwan and the asian pacific region. >> you're watching c-span2, your unfiltered view of government. today brought to