Biden will be accompanied by Vice President Kamala Harris in Georgia, who will be appointed to lead the administration’s work on voting rights. Many members of Congress, local officials and civil rights leaders accompany them on various trips.
While in Atlanta, the President and Vice President Dr. The White House has announced that Martin Luther King, Jr. and Corretta Scott King will wear evening attire to the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church.
“In the next few days, when these bills come to a vote, there will be a turning point in this country. Shall we choose democracy over dictatorship, light over shadow and justice over injustice? I know where I stand,” Biden said. To an excerpt from his comments published by the White House. “I will not surrender. I will not back down. I will defend your right to vote and our democracy against foreign and domestic enemies. So the question is where does the US Senate stand?”
During his speech at Clark University of Atlanta and Morhouse College Grounds in Georgia, Biden called for a “strong defense of the fundamental American right: the right to vote and to have your voice counted as free, fair, and secure. Saki said Monday.
“(The late Rep. John Lewis) will make it clear in the former district that the only way to do that is to pass the Senate Freedom of Voting Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act,” he added.
In his speech, Biden said, “When time stands still in the history of a country and the essential is immediately removed from the trivial, Biden describes it as one of the rarest moments in the history of a country. We must make sure that January 6 does not mark the end. We stand for the right to vote, the vote must be counted fairly, and the parties to whom you voted should not be underestimated or try to change the decision. “
Psaki pointed out on Tuesday that Georgia was one of 19 states to pass “voter repression laws attacking the right to vote” by 2020.
“While these voter repression efforts are driven by big lies, they are a reflection of some dark chapters in our history,” he said.
A White House official said it was necessary to change the Philippines rules to pass the Right to Vote Act to ensure that “this fundamental right is protected”.
“This is because the abuse of a system that is seldom used in a system unconstitutional has greatly hurt the body and its use to defend against serious attacks on the most fundamental constitutional right is despicable,” the official said.
The Senate is expected to take up the right to vote in the coming days. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Jan. 17 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day – The Senate has set a deadline to vote for a change in the rules if Republicans continue to block the right to vote.
Biden, during his speech on Tuesday, also plans to elaborate on what new laws in some states restrict access to the ballot.
“He’s focused on making sure the American people understand that we’re at risk here. “Defending the fundamental right to vote is what he’s going to talk about in states like Georgia across the country.”
M.L.K. His visit to Peach State, a week before Junior Day, comes amid pressure from lawyers for Biden to clarify the path to pass voting rights bills.
Several voting rights groups have issued a letter saying Biden and Harris should not go to Atlanta without a firm plan to legislate voting rights bills immediately. On Monday, the Coalition of Voting Rights Committees in Georgia announced that it would not attend events surrounding Biden’s arrival.
“We do not need any other talk. We do not want him to come to Georgia and use us as a stumbling block. We need work,” Cliff Albright, co – founder of the Black Waters Matter Fund, told CNN’s John Berman. “New Day” Tuesday morning.
Albright said he would like to see the president approach the right to vote as he has worked to enforce his bilateral infrastructure law and appeal to senators personally.
“If he says the next seven days will be historically significant and significant, he should have been completely inclined to find out from Mansin (West Virginia Democrat Sen. Joe) what kind of meetings he held after the speech, and what he was up to about infrastructure and some other issues. Like, he’s going to be very straightforward and strong, “Albright said.
Albright added: “In 40 years of Senate experience it makes no sense to tell us you can not get two votes.”
Prominent Georgia leader Stacy Abrams – Democrats’ leading voting rights lawyer – has raised the issue after Republican Brian Kemp used the loss of his 2018 governorship to raise the issue – a spokeswoman said because of a confrontation with Biden. After the election, Abrams founded Fair Fight, which advocates for voter protection across the country, and he is running for governor again this year.
The president said he had spoken to Abrams on Tuesday morning, adding that his absence from his forthcoming speech was due to a planned conflict.
“I spoke to Stacey this morning. We have a good relationship. We messed up our planning. I talked to her for a long time this morning. We are all on the same page and everything is fine,” he said.
Speaking to reporters at Air Force One on Tuesday, Biden shared his frustration with voting rights activists about the current stalemate over voting rights.
“He shares the desire to get this done and finished. He shares their frustration that it has not been done yet,” Saki said.
Jana Morgan, director of the Declaration of American Democracy, told CNN that she was “cautious and optimistic” about Biden’s speech, but that she considered it a first step.
“We are going to look closely to make sure there is follow-up on these comments,” Morgan said. He leads a coalition of organizations working to improve the right to vote.
Morgan said he wanted the president to personally appeal to senators to pass the Right to Vote Act.
“He said it was the biggest test for our country since the Civil War, and I believe he’s right to say that American democracy has come under attack. So, we want to see those strong words come to fruition,” Morgan said.
Biden discussed the vote during his speech last week in recognition of the first anniversary of the January 6 uprising in the Capitol building, saying former President Donald Trump and Republican allies were trying to sabotage the US election.
“Now, state by state, new laws are being written – not to protect the vote, but to deny it; not only to suppress the vote, but to destroy it; not to strengthen or protect our democracy, but to defeat the former president,” Biden said last week.
Instead of looking at the 2020 election results and saying that we need new ideas or better ideas to get more votes, the former president and his supporters have decided that the only way to win is to crush your vote and disrupt our election. Biden said. “This is wrong. It’s undemocratic. Obviously, this is not American.”
“We must be firm, determined and submissive in defending the right to vote and that vote must be counted,” the president later said in a speech.
A White House official said the president plans to use Georgia as an example for these states.
In his speech, Biden said, “After the Georgians voted firmly for the new leadership in 2020, the Republicans decided they could not win on the merits of their ideas. Empowered to manipulate election boards, ”the official said.
CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Dan Merica, Fredreka Schouten and Betsy Klein contributed to the report.
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