Biden to Travel to Philadelphia to Speak on Voting Rights

Politics|As Democrats spot ominous signs up for voting rights, Biden volition code the contented successful Philadelphia.

• July 13, 2021, 8:20 a.m. ET

President Biden volition question to Philadelphia connected Tuesday to present a code connected voting rights arsenic Republicans successful authorities legislatures crossed the state are seeking walk measures restricting entree to ballot and arsenic a Democratic effort to overhaul the strategy has faltered successful Congress.

The travel to the birthplace of American ideology is meant to supply a almighty backdrop for Mr. Biden arsenic helium tries to revive an embattled centerpiece of his home agenda.

Mr. Biden is expected to outline each of the ways his medication is moving to further voting access. He is expected to item the vice president’s efforts to enactment elector registration and education. He volition apt reenforce the thought that the existent harvest of Republican statehouse efforts meant to restrict voting entree were inspired by a prevarication that elector fraud upset the 2020 election.

“He volition redouble his committedness to utilizing each instrumentality astatine his disposal to proceed to combat to support the cardinal close of Americans to vote,” Jen Psaki, the White House property secretary, told reporters connected Monday.

But absent from the outline elaborate by Ms. Psaki is immoderate program to code increasing request among activists that helium telephone for Democrats to unite down a alteration successful filibuster rules. Rolling backmost the filibuster would let 2 pieces of ambitious voting rights authorities to walk the Senate with a elemental bulk vote.

In an interrogation connected Monday, Rev. Al Sharpton said that helium and respective different civilian rights leaders pushed Mr. Biden to adhd specified an entreaty to Democrats successful his speech.

“We encouraged him to marque a existent entreaty to each of the Democrats to get successful line,” Mr. Sharpton said, recalling a gathering helium and respective different civilian rights leaders had astatine the White House with Mr. Biden precocious past week. “I deliberation helium heard us, but I don’t know.”

Mr. Biden’s code successful Philadelphia comes arsenic Democrats spot a worrying summation successful efforts to restrict the vote, on with tribunal rulings that would marque it harder to combat backmost against those efforts. A Supreme Court ruling this month weakened the 1 enforcement clause of the Voting Rights Act that remained aft the tribunal invalidated its large provision successful 2013. Mr. Biden said a twelvemonth agone that strengthening the enactment would beryllium 1 of his archetypal priorities upon taking office.

While they hold for national enactment that whitethorn not come, Democrats successful states that are passing restrictive laws are resorting to melodramatic enactment to gully nationalist attraction to what they consciousness is an battle connected American democracy. On Monday, a bevy of Texas Democrats flew connected chartered planes to Washington to halt Republicans successful their authorities from attaining a quorum, which would person furthered the transition of a restrictive voting law.

On Monday during a sojourn to Detroit, Vice President Kamala Harris praised the Texans for walking out.

“I applaud them lasting for the rights of each Americans and each Texans to explicit their dependable done their vote, unencumbered,” Ms. Harris said during a listening circular array connected the issue. “I bash judge that warring for the close to ballot is arsenic American arsenic pome pie. It is truthful cardinal to warring for the principles of our democracy.”