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\u2019 attacks on democracy at the state level.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat these guys are trying to do now, in rough approximation, is say that if we don\u2019t like the way the vote turned out, and we control the state legislature, we\u2019re gonna say the vote didn\u2019t count \u2015 and we\u2019re going to recount,\u201d Biden said Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s never happened before. It\u2019s wrong,\u201d he continued. \u201cWho in God\u2019s name \u2015 as my mother would say \u2015 died and left them boss? Your vote has to count when you cast it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Many of these efforts have focused on swing states Donald Trump lost in the 2020 presidential election, emboldened by Trump\u2019s persistent lie that he won the election when,\u00a0in fact, he lost by more than 7 million votes.<\/p>\n
In Georgia, where Trump unsuccessfully pressured secretary of state Brad Raffensberger to \u201cfind\u201d him enough votes to overturn the result, Republicans passed a sweeping measure in March that will disproportionately impact Black voters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe legislature in Georgia could decide, \u2018That election wasn\u2019t fair, we\u2019re gonna vote to say it doesn\u2019t count,\u2019\u201d Biden warned. \u201cIt\u2019s wrong, it\u2019s simply wrong, and it\u2019s borderline immoral.\u201d<\/p>\n
Similar legislation aimed at restricting access has been introduced in Texas, Florida, Michigan and Arizona.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t just about whether or not you can provide water for someone standing in line while they\u2019re waiting to vote,\u201d Biden said, referring to one portion of the new Georgia law. \u201cThis is about who gets to judge whether your vote\u2019s counted after it\u2019s been cast.\u201d<\/p>\n