President Joe Biden called one drastic election law signed by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp this week an “atrocity”, saying the Justice Department is “taking a closer look” at the measure.
The new law includes provisions to require voter identification for absentee ballots, limit the use of ballots, give government officials more power over elections, and make it a crime to offer voters food and water while they wait in line.
Critics argue that the law disproportionately affects black voters, who have been critical of recent Democratic victories. Mr Biden narrowly won the state in the 2020 election, and Georgia sent two Democrats to the senate after the January final election.
Asked by reporters on Friday how the White House might respond to the bill, Mr. Biden: “We are working on that now.”
‘We don’t know exactly what we can do at the moment. The Justice Department is also taking a look, ”Mr Biden said.
He told reporters the bill was an “atrocity”.
“It has nothing to do with fairness, nothing with decency. They passed the law and say you can’t give water to people who queue up while they wait to vote? You don’t need anything else to know. that this is nothing but punitive, meant to keep people from voting. Can’t you water people who are going to vote? Give me a break, “he said.
In a statement released earlier on Friday, the president urged Congress to pass voting rights legislation that would contravene Georgian law and other bills proposed by Republican state legislatures across the country that vote it make it more difficult.
“This law, like so many others being pursued by Republicans in state houses across the country, is a blatant assault on the constitution and a good conscience,” said Mr Biden. He noted that longer queues at polling stations have disproportionately affected black voters in metropolitan areas, as Republican officials have reduced polling stations in their neighborhoods.
“This is Jim Crow in the 21st century. It must end. We have a moral and constitutional obligation to act. I once again urge Congress to pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. to make it easier for everyone Eligible Americans have access to the polls and avoid attacks on the sacred right to vote, ”Mr. Biden continued.
The House recently passed the For the People Act, a comprehensive bill covering elections and elections and campaign finance reform. However it is unlikely to succeed in the Senate, where most Republicans have opposed the bill. Democrats have only a 50-seat majority in the Senate, and most legislation requires 60 votes to pass.
Even if the Democrats were to eliminate the filibuster, lowering the threshold to a simple majority, some Democrats have also expressed concern about the bill. Democratic Senator Joe Manchin said this week that he believed the bill should be curtailed, and Democrats and Republicans should try to pass voting rights legislation on a bipartisan basis. Manchin is also against ending the filibuster.
In a letter to Democratic colleagues on Thursday, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said the Senate Judiciary Committee would soon pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which would restore the provisions of the 1965 Supreme Court voting rights law. Like the For the People Act, it is unlikely that the necessary support will be received from 60 senators.
Meanwhile, Republicans argue that the bill in Georgia does not amount to voter oppression. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has said that “the cries of ‘voter oppression’ from those on the left are hollow.” Kemp said it made elections safer.
“There’s nothing ‘Jim Crow’ about requiring a photo or state-issued ID to vote in absentia. Every voter in Georgia should do this when they vote in person,” Kemp said Friday.