Biden Hints At Renewed Fight Against State-Led Voter Restrictions

Just over a day after Republicans blocked debate on a bill that would improve and protect voting access at the federal level, President Joe Biden said he intends to keep sounding the alarm on Republicans’ attacks on democracy at the state level.

“What these guys are trying to do now, in rough approximation, is say that if we don’t like the way the vote turned out, and we control the state legislature, we’re gonna say the vote didn’t count ― and we’re going to recount,” Biden said Thursday.

“That’s never happened before. It’s wrong,” he continued. “Who in God’s name ― as my mother would say ― died and left them boss? Your vote has to count when you cast it.”

Republicans in statehouses across the country have introduced more than 250 bills seeking to make it harder for people to vote, a tactic that effectively has politicians choosing their voters instead of the other way around.

Many of these efforts have focused on swing states Donald Trump lost in the 2020 presidential election, emboldened by Trump’s persistent lie that he won the election when, in fact, he lost by more than 7 million votes.

In Georgia, where Trump unsuccessfully pressured secretary of state Brad Raffensberger to “find” him enough votes to overturn the result, Republicans passed a sweeping measure in March that will disproportionately impact Black voters.

“The legislature in Georgia could decide, ‘That election wasn’t fair, we’re gonna vote to say it doesn’t count,’” Biden warned. “It’s wrong, it’s simply wrong, and it’s borderline immoral.”

Similar legislation aimed at restricting access has been introduced in Texas, Florida, Michigan and Arizona. 

“This isn’t just about whether or not you can provide water for someone standing in line while they’re waiting to vote,” Biden said, referring to one portion of the new Georgia law. “This is about who gets to judge whether your vote’s counted after it’s been cast.”

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