In the opening scene of “Selma,” Oprah Winfrey’s character seeks to register to vote.

Asked to recite the preamble to the US Constitution, she knows it.

How many trial judges in Alabama?  Without hesitation, the correct number.

Name them, says the clerk.  Silence.

Application denied.

The end result of the civil disobedience and violence that follow is the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

That law gives the Attorney General of the United States the authority to go to court when there is reasonable grounds to believe that an election law violation is imminent.

My legislation to give that same power to the Attorney General of Maryland passed the House of Delegates in 2013, 91-45.  Forty two of the “no” votes were cast by Republicans.

My desire to pass the bill has intensified after seeing “Selma.”