Jesse Williams wants everyone to give the “myth” of voter fraud a break.
The “Grey’s Anatomy” star appeared on Wednesday night’s episode of “The Daily Show” to promote his upcoming projects. Williams also discussed his involvement in activism, specifically his voter protection work with the Advancement Project.
Williams, who’s a board member of the organization, told host Trevor Noah that the group has worked tirelessly to fight voter suppression and that, contrary to the president’s claims, voter fraud isn’t a thing.
“Voter fraud is a myth. It’s fake. It’s a lie. It’s bullshit. It’s not real,” Williams said.
“And it’s been created to ... preserve the status quo and to stop black, brown and poor people from having access,” he continued. “All of these things are a part of a thread, when you talk about police accountability, anything, part of a thread of people having to spend their entire life fighting for the rights they already supposedly have ― exhausting themselves just to have the thing that you said that we had when we were born.”
President Donald Trump has alleged that between 3 million and 5 million people voted illegally in the 2016 election. With no evidence to back his claim, he vowed to launch an investigation into widespread voter fraud.
But evidence of voter suppression is aplenty. November’s election was the first presidential election in 50 years without the full protection of the Voting Rights Act. This meant more barriers that eligible voters had to get around in states with new restrictions, like North Carolina, Wisconsin and Florida. Voter ID laws, a reduced number of polling sites and permanent disenfranchisement are just a few factors that blocked millions of Americans’ right to vote.
Watch Williams’ full interview with Noah here.
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