Biden has proposed voting restrictions on Texas “as an attack on democracy” | US and Canadian News

Texas lawmakers will vote on a bill that restricts entry, the last of a similar measure in the U.S.

U.S. President Joe Biden has denounced a bill that would reduce voting rights in the state of Texas, saying the measure is “part of an attack on democracy” and would disproportionately harm people of color.

In one statement on Saturday evening, Biden said Texas lawmakers introduced a “law that unites the state law that attacks the sacred right to vote with Georgia and Florida to unite.”

“It’s part of an attack on democracy that we’ve seen too often this year – and they often target overly black and brown Americans. He is wrong and not American. XXI. In the century, we should make it easier for all eligible voters to vote, not harder, ”he said.

Texas ’broad bill – known as the Senate Bill 7 – would eliminate the ballot, allow polling party monitors and limit voting on Sundays, when many black churches go to the polls, among other restrictions.

The changes should be approved before midnight on Sunday, when the state-run Republican-controlled legislature ends its session.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has said he will sign the measure, and Democrats have said they will sue in court.

The proposal is one of them various legislation That would limit access to voting after the 2020 presidential election proposed by U.S. Republicans, and critics said would make it harder for blacks and others of color to vote.

Florida, Georgia and Arizona have also approved new vote cuts in recent months.

Georgian law, approved in March, sets stricter identification requirements, restricts drop-in boxes, empowers lawmakers to hold local elections, and shortens the early voting period for all second elections. It also becomes a crime to provide food and water to voters waiting in line.

This measure led to a quick rebuke of civil rights defenders business leaders, as well as Biden describe Named “Jim Crow of the 21st Century” – referring to the segregation laws used to suppress the vote of African Americans.

The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University, which tracks voting legislation across the country, said at least 14 states across the country have enacted 22 laws restricting access to voting from Jan. 1 to May 14 this year, while another ten made their way through state legislatures.

Attempts to block access to the vote have escalated into false claims by former President Donald Trump that he was repeatedly robbed and stolen from elections in November and linked to attempts to prevent the turnout of historic voters seen in 2020, the Brennan Center said. he said on its website.

“Getting Americans to vote is in unprecedented danger,” he said.

Returning to Texas, large corporations, including American Airlines and Dell, have warned that the proposed bill could harm democracy and the economic climate.

But Republicans ignored the abandonment and, in some cases, criticized business leaders for speaking out.

Top Republican negotiators, state Sen. Bryan Hughes and state representative Briscoe Cain, called Texas “one of the most comprehensive and sensible election reform bills in Texas history.”

“While the national media downplays the importance of the integrity of the election, the Texas Legislature has not bowed to signs of headline or corporate virtue,” they said in a joint statement.

Texas already has the toughest voting restrictions in the country and non-partisan groups regularly cite voting as a particularly tough state. COVID-19 was one of the few states that did not facilitate postal voting during the pandemic.