President Biden, executive order extending access to voting

President Biden ordered government agencies to expand access to voter registration and election information. He told agency heads to draw up plans to give several million federal employees time off to vote or to work as non-political volunteers at polling stations.

The U.S. leader signed the executive order on the 56th anniversary of what is known as Bloody Sunday, the 1965 incident in which about 600 civil rights activists were beaten by Alabama state police while marching for human rights. voting in the small town of Selmas. The attack was a turning point in the civil rights movement in the United States and led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act later in 1965.

“Every qualified voter should be able to vote and have their vote recognized,” President Biden said in a pre-recorded message broadcast on what is known as the Martin Unity Breakfast and Coretta King. “If you have the best ideas, you do not need to hide them. “Let the people vote.” This year’s morning at Wallace Community College, two years old, was marked as an event for voting issues with participants staying in cars due to the coronavirus pandemic.

President Biden’s move follows the adoption last week in the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives of comprehensive voting rights measures aimed at setting national standards for how elections are conducted in the United States, going beyond a set of rules. different in 50 states.

The measure, approved by party lines with 220 votes in favor and 210 against, is opposed by Republicans. In an equally divided Senate of 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans, Democrats who support the legislation are likely to need at least 10 Republican votes to end any attempts to delay or block the bill.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic last year, a number of states eased voting rules so that people could vote before election day on November 3, in absentia or by mail without having to justify their voting method./VOA

top channel