US President, Joe Biden has signed an executive order that aims to make it easier for Americans to vote. This comes as Republicans in several states sought to impose more voting restrictions following the contested 2020 presidential election.
The order directs US federal agencies to “consider ways to expand citizens’ opportunities to register to vote. And to obtain information about and participate in, the electoral process”
It also calls for federal agencies to provide more information about voting to the public. And overhaul the federal voter registration website, Vote.gov. Additionally, the order requests the promotion and expansion of multilingual voter registration and election information.
“It is the policy of my Administration to promote and defend the right to vote for all Americans who are legally entitled to participate in elections.”
Executive order
Biden’s order comes at the back of the 56th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday” in 1965 at Selma, Alabama. That day saw state troopers and police attack civil rights marchers who were protesting against racial discrimination at the voting booth.
Those events represent a key turning point in the US civil rights movement. And led to the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which bars racial discrimination in voting.
“The legacy of the march in Selma is that while nothing can stop a free people from exercising their most sacred power as a citizen, there are those who will do everything they can to take that power away.”
President Biden told reporters.
New restrictions after 2020 election dispute voting
Reports from several US states indicate that Republicans are pursuing new voting restrictions in the wake of the November elections. This comes after former President Donald Trump alleged that election was stolen from him due to voter fraud.
The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University earlier reported that as of February 19, “legislators in 43 states have carried over, prefiled, or introduced more than 250 bills that would make it harder to vote”.
The institution which tracks voting legislation around the country said that it’s “over seven times the number of restrictive bills as compared to roughly this time last year”. It added that the bills “primarily seek to limit mail voting and impose stricter voter ID requirements”.
Restoring voting rights voting
Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress are seeking to push through a massive overhaul of US voting and ethics regulations.
Last week, the Democrat-controlled US House of Representatives passed the For The People Act, despite staunch Republican opposition.
The act, which will now go to the Senate, aims to restrict “partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts” and strike down hurdles to voting. It also seeks to bring “transparency” to a “murky campaign finance system”, that allows donors to secretly fund political causes.
In a statement, Democratic Congresswoman, Terri Sewell of Alabama also said it is critical to pass a bill she introduced in 2019. She averred that the bill seeks to restore weakened portions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
“While my heart breaks knowing that John will not lead this year’s commemorative march [in Selma], my hope is that we will rededicate ourselves to his life’s work by restoring the full protections of the Voting Rights Act.”
Congresswoman Sewell said referring to late congressman and civil rights icon, John Lewis.
“As we’ve recently seen in state legislatures across this nation, voter suppression is alive and well. That is why we must pass H.R. 4, The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act, to ensure all Americans can fully participate in our democracy.”
Congresswoman Terri Sewell
In this paragraph, I’m going to discuss a few reasons why practice is important to mastering skills. Firstly, the only way to truly learn a skill is by actually doing what you’ll have to do in the real world. Secondly, I think practice can be a fun way of putting in the necessary hours. There are, however, some people who will
