WASHINGTON (Nexstar) – President Biden visited Selma, Alabama to commemorate the anniversary of Bloody Sunday and noted in a speech that voting rights are still under attack today.
In the visit, which included marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Biden marked the 58th anniversary of the Selma Civil Rights March, that became known as Bloody Sunday, saying, “on this bridge, blood was given to help redeem the soul of America.”
Biden says because of Supreme Court rulings and misinformation following the 2020 elections, voting rights for all Americans have been weakened by “a wave of states and dozens and dozens of anti-voting laws, fueled by the Big Lie, and the election deniers now elected to office.”
While President Biden said these threats aren’t new, he also called on Congress to address voting protections adding, “the conservative Supreme Court has gutted the Voting Rights Act over the years.”
Biden said while he signed the Electoral Count Reform Act into law, work remains to be done, including “to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.”
The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act aims to remove voting hurdles.
Meanwhile, over the weekend at the Conservative Political Action Conference, former President Donald Trump — who is running for re-election — also addressed voting laws, saying he wants voters to be required to vote in-person on election day with limited exceptions.
“All Republican governors should immediately go for paper ballots, one-day voting and voter ID,” Trump said.
President Biden says he’s not giving up on trying to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act which would also restrict partisan gerrymandering by states.
