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U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a bipartisan meeting on cancer legislation in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, March 3, 2021.
Alex Brandon | Pool | Reuters
President Joe Biden on Sunday signed an executive order aimed at helping to ensure all Americans have the right to vote by increasing access to voter registration services and information.
Biden also called for Congress to restore the Voting Rights Act, which was signed into law in 1965 following a violent protest in Selma, Alabama, that left some participants injured.
The late Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., who was one of the activists leading the march, suffered a fractured skull. Lewis passed away last year.
Biden’s executive order coincides with the 56th anniversary of that protest, known as Bloody Sunday.
“Today, on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday, I am signing an executive order to make it easier for eligible voters to register to vote and improve access to voting,” Biden said in prepared remarks.
“Every eligible voter should be able to vote and have that vote counted. If you have the best ideas, you have nothing to hide. Let the people vote.”
Biden’s executive order is an “initial step,” according to the White House. The president plans to work with Congress to restore the Voting Rights Act, which eliminated discriminatory practices such as requiring literacy tests in order to vote.
“I also urge Congress to fully restore the Voting Rights Act, named in John Lewis’ honor,” Biden said.
In 2013, the Supreme Court invalidated a central plank of the act which required 9 states with a history of discrimination, mostly in the south, to receive federal approval to change their election laws.
Rep. John Lewis in Selma, Alabama.,on Feb. 14, 2015.
Bill Clark | CQ Roll Call | Getty Images
Biden also plans to work with lawmakers to pass the For the People Act that was passed by the House last week, which includes additional reforms to make voting “equitable and accessible.”
“This is a landmark piece of legislation that is urgently needed to protect the right to vote, the integrity of our elections, and to repair and strengthen our democracy,” Biden said.
Biden’s executive order aims to take initial steps toward making the polls more accessible to Black and other minority voters, including Native Americans and people with disabilities.
It also calls for initiatives to improve access to voting for federal employees, active duty military and other voters overseas, and Americans in federal prison.
The executive order directs federal agencies to increase voters’ access to registration and information on elections online, as well as through more regular distribution of vote by mail and voter registration applications.
The executive order also calls for federal agencies to better coordinate with state governments on voter registration, as well as for updating the website Vote.gov.
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