is not optional, the time is now, and that this is urgent and that we need to pass this legislation. >> yeah, let's talk about those efforts because there are at least 17 states that are passing laws trying to restrict voting, and a "new york times" article from this week says these new restrictions would never have made it this far in the '60s because of a ruling by the supreme court in 2013 saying racial discrimination was no longer a threat in the u.s., thus lifting the requirement that states with a history of racial discrimination had to get approval from the justice department before changing voting laws. so are we going backwards? >> yes. i mean the gutting of the voting rights act by the supreme court is tragic. we know that as soon as that happened there are states that went back to their previous discriminatory practices. we saw hundreds of polling locations across the southeastern seaboard of the united states close down. we saw rules change, and i think that it is really important we give teeth back into the voting