Attorney General Eric Holder has called on states to repeal laws that prohibit formerly incarcerated people from voting, a move that would restore the right to vote to nearly six million people. Holder spoke at the Georgetown University Law Center.

Attorney General Eric Holder: “Formerly incarcerated people continue to face significant obstacles. They are frequently deprived of opportunities that they need to rebuild their lives. And in far too many places, their rights—including the single most basic right of American citizenship, the right to vote—are either abridged or denied. As the Leadership Conference Education Fund articulated very clearly in your recent report, and I quote: 'There is no rational reason to take away someone's voting rights for life just because they’ve committed a crime, especially after they’ve completed their sentence and made amends,’ unquote.”

Holder’s call was largely symbolic since the federal government cannot force states to change their voting laws. Click here to watch our segment today about this headline.