Biden calls for reinstatement of voting rights law, signs ordinance to expand access

President Joe Biden on Sunday signed an executive order to help ensure all Americans have the right to vote by improving access to voter registration services and information.

Biden also called on Congress to reinstate the Voting Rights Act, which was enacted in 1965 following a violent protest in Selma, Alabama, which injured some attendees.

The late Representative John Lewis, D-Ga., Who was one of the activists leading the march, suffered a broken skull. Lewis died last year.

Biden’s executive order coincides with the 56^e anniversary of this event, known as Bloody Sunday.

“Today, on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday, I am signing an executive order to facilitate the registration of eligible voters to vote and improve access to the vote,” Biden said in prepared remarks.

“Every eligible voter should be able to vote and have that vote count. If you have the best ideas, you have nothing to hide. Let people vote.”

Biden’s executive order is a “first step,” according to the White House. The president plans to work with Congress to restore the voting rights law, which has eliminated discriminatory practices such as requiring literacy tests to vote.

“I also urge Congress to fully restore the Voting Rights Act, named in honor of John Lewis,” Biden said.

In 2013, the Supreme Court struck down a central piece of the law that required 9 states with a history of discrimination, mostly in the south, to receive federal approval to change their election laws.

Biden also plans to work with lawmakers to pass the People’s Law that was passed by the House last week, which includes additional reforms to make voting “fair and accessible.”

“This is historic law that is urgently needed to protect the right to vote, the integrity of our elections, and to repair and strengthen our democracy,” Biden said.

Biden’s decree aims to take initial steps to make polls more accessible to black voters and other minority voters, including Native Americans and people with disabilities.

He also calls for initiatives to improve access to the vote for federal employees, serving military personnel and other voters abroad, and Americans in federal prisons.

The executive order directs federal agencies to increase voter access to online voter registration and election information, as well as more regular distribution of mail votes and voter registration requests.

The executive order also calls on federal agencies to better coordinate with state governments on voter registration, as well as for updating the Vote.gov website.