US President Joe Biden speaks at a bipartisan meeting on cancer laws at the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, March 3, 2021.
Alex Brandon | Swimming pool | Reuters
President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Sunday to ensure that all Americans have the right to vote by increasing access to voter registration services and information.
Biden also called on Congress to reinstate the Voting Rights Act, which was signed into law in 1965 after a violent protest in Selma, Alabama, injuring some participants.
The late Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., Who was one of the activists who led the march, suffered a skull fracture. 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 sign an executive order to make it easier for eligible voters to register to vote and improve access to votes,” Biden said in prepared remarks.
“Any eligible voter should be able to vote and make that vote count. If you have the best ideas, you have nothing to hide. Let the people vote.”
According to the White House, Biden’s executive order is a “first step.” The president plans to work with Congress to reinstate the Voting Rights Act, which has eliminated discriminatory practices such as literacy tests required to vote.
“I also urge Congress to fully restore the Voting Rights Act, named in honor of John Lewis,” Biden said.
In 2013, the Supreme Court overturned a central rule of the law that required nine states with a history of discrimination, primarily in the South, to receive federal approval to change their electoral laws.
Representative John Lewis in Selma, Alabama., On February 14, 2015.
Bill Clark | CQ Roll Call | Getty images
Biden also plans to work with lawmakers to pass the For the People Act, passed by the House last week, which includes additional reforms to make voting “fair and accessible.”
“This is a milestone in legislation that is urgently needed to protect the right to vote, the integrity of our elections and to restore and strengthen our democracy,” said Biden.
Biden’s executive order is to take the first steps to make the polls more accessible to black and other minority voters, including Native Americans and people with disabilities.
It also calls for initiatives to improve voting access for federal employees, active military and other voters abroad, and Americans in federal prison.
The executive decree mandates federal agencies to improve voter access to registration and election information online, as well as through more regular distribution of postal votes and voter registration applications.
The executive decree also calls on federal agencies to better coordinate with state governments on voter registration, and to update the Vote.gov website.