President Biden signs the voting order

A new executive order signed by President Joe Biden orders federal agencies to take a number of steps to promote access to the vote.

The move comes as Republicans in many states are pushing to demand stricter voting requirements, while Democrats say those moves are the equivalent of suppressing voters.

“Election officials in 43 states have already introduced more than 250 bills to make it harder for Americans to vote. We can’t let them succeed,” said Biden, who signed the order on the 56th commemoration of Sunday. Bloody, ”the 1965 incident in which some 600 civil rights activists were brutally beaten by state agents while trying to march for the right to vote in Selma, Alabama.

Announcements

Biden’s order includes several modest provisions. It orders federal agencies to expand access to voter registration and election information, calls on agency heads to submit plans to give federal employees free time to vote or volunteer as nonpartisan poll workers, and encourages a review of the government vote. website.

Congress Democrats are trying to consolidate support for House Resolution 1, which affects virtually every aspect of the electoral process. It was passed Wednesday in a close-to-party vote, 220-210.

The Bill on Voting Rights includes provisions to restrict partisan conflicts in congressional districts, remove barriers to voting, and bring transparency to a murky campaign funding system that allows wealthy donors to anonymously fund political causes.

It is designed to stifle what Republican-led state legislatures, such as Florida and Georgia, are doing.

Announcements

Dean Black, president of the Duval County GOP, said changes need to be made to improve electoral security in Florida.

“Because we have a lot of voters who don’t trust the electoral system right now and we need to have a system that shows us the country that works,” Black said.

State Sen. Annette Taddeo, D-Miami, said statewide Republican movements are blatant partisanship and want to keep voters out of the polls.

“It simply came to our notice then. This has nothing to do with troubleshooting. But it is clear that this is the re-election of Ron DeSantis because the Democrats made people vote in large numbers, “said Taddeo.

Georgia Republicans have already made further progress in electoral reform. House Bill 531, which passed the lower house by a 97-72 vote, would add requirements for absentee voting and limited ballot boxes.

Announcements

Some civil rights groups are calling on Atlanta-based companies, such as Coca-Cola and Delta, to join the fight against the legislation.