race or his color. We have all sworn an oath before god to support and to defend that Constitution We must now act in obedience to that oath Wednesday I will send to Congress a law designed to eliminate illegal barriers to the right to vote The broad principles of that bill will be in the hands of the Democratic and Republican leaders tomorrow. After they have reviewed it it will come here formally as a bill. i am gratef ul for this opportunity to come here tonight at the inv ita tion of the leadership to reason with my friends to give them my views, and to visit with my former colleagues. I've had prepared a more comprehensive analysis of the leg islation which i had inte nded to transm it to the clerk tomorrow but which I will submit to the clerks ton ight. But i want to really discuss with you now, briefly the main proposals of this legislation This bill will strike down restrictions to voting in all elections -- Federal, State, and local - which have been used to deny Negroes the right to vote. This bill will establish a simple, unif orm standard which cannot be used, however ingenious the effort to flout our Constitution. It will provide for citizens to be registered by of f icials of the United States Government, if the state off icials ref use to register them. It will elim inate ted io us, unnecessary lawsuits which de lay the right to vote Finally this legislation will ensure that properly registered individuals are not prohibited from voting I will welcome the suggestions from all of the Members of Congress --I have no doubt that i will get some --on ways and means to strengthen this law and to make it effective. But experience has plainly shown that this is the only path to carry out the command of the constitution To those who seek to avoid action by their National Government in their own communities, who want to and who seek to ma intain purely local control ove elections, the answer is simple: open your polling places to all your people Allow men and women to register and vote whatever the color of their skin Extend the rights of citizenship to every citizen of this lai There is no constitutional issue here. The command of the Constitution is plain There is no moral issue. It is wrong - deadly wrong - to deny any of your fellow Americans the right to vote in this country. There is no issue of States rights or national rights. there is only the struggle for human rights. I have not the slightest doubt what will be your answer. But the last time a President sent a civil rights bill to the Congress, it contained a provision to protect voting rights in Federal elections. That civil rights bill wasrace or his color. We have all sworn an oath before God to support and to defend that Constitution. We must now act in obedience to that oath. Wednesday, I will send to Congress a law designed to eliminate illegal barriers to the right to vote. The broad principles of that bill will be in the hands of the Democratic and Republican leaders tomorrow. Af ter they have reviewed it, it will come here formally as a bill. I am grateful for this opportunity to come here tonight at the invitation of the leadership to reason with my f riends, to give them my views, and to visit with my former colleagues. I've had prepared a more comprehensive analysis of the legislation which I had intended to transmit to the clerk tomorrow, but which I will submit to the clerks tonight. But I want to really discuss with you now, briefly, the main proposals of this legislation. This bill will strike down restrictions to voting in all elections -- Federal, State, and local -- which have been used to deny Negroes the right to vote. This bill will establish a simple, uniform standard which cannot be used, however ingenious the ef fort, to flout our Constitution. It will provide for citizens to be registered by of ficials of the United States Government, if the State of ficials refuse to register them. It will eliminate tedious, unnecessary lawsuits which delay the right to vote. Finally, this legislation will ensure that properly registered individuals are not prohibited f rom voting. I will welcome the suggestions f rom all of the Members of Congress -- I have no doubt that I will get some -- on ways and means to strengthen this law and to make it effective. But experience has plainly shown that this is the only path to carry out the command of the Constitution. To those who seek to avoid action by their National Government in their own communities, who want to and who seek to maintain purely local control over elections, the answer is simple: open your polling places to all your people. Allow men and women to register and vote whatever the color of their skin. Extend the rights of citizenship to every citizen of this land. There is no constitutional issue here. The command of the Constitution is plain. There is no moral issue. It is wrong -- deadly wrong -- to deny any of your fellow Americans the right to vote in this country. There is no issue of States' rights or national rights. There is only the struggle for human rights. I have not the slightest doubt what will be your answer. But the last time a President sent a civil rights bill to the Congress, it contained a provision to protect voting rights in Federal elections. That civil rights bill was