"Expanding influence on minds": why Biden spoke about the need for changes in US suffrage

US President Joe Biden has called for changes to the country's electoral legislation, announcing threats of "infringement" on American elections.

This is stated in his address, published on the White House website to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Congressman John Lewis, who in the 1960s was one of the leaders of the civil rights movement.

“I reiterate my call on Congress to pass the Law for the People and the Law to Promote Voting Rights.

John Lewis ”so I can sign them.

As a country, we must unite in a coalition of Americans of any origin and any party affiliation ... and pay special attention to this point, ”Biden said.

The "People's Law" that Joe Biden is pushing for speedy adoption, among other things, includes increased opportunities for voter registration (automatic registration and registration on election day) and access to voting (will by mail and early voting). It also restricts the removal of voters from the register. In addition, the bill establishes provisions related to electoral security, including the transfer of intelligence information to state electoral officials, as well as other provisions "aimed at developing the cybersecurity of electoral systems."

As for the “Law on the Promotion of Electoral Rights.

John Lewis, "then he envisions the restoration of the norms provided for by the" Suffrage Act "of 1965, which was signed by President Lyndon Johnson.

This document removed barriers to political participation for black Americans in some states.

In 2013, the US Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional one of its sections, which obliged nine states and a number of other administrative-territorial units where racial discrimination was observed in the past to agree at the federal level on innovations that they intended to include in their electoral laws.

According to Biden, these two bills should be passed in the light of recent events in the United States.

"We have not seen such violent attacks on voter rights and electoral integrity since the black civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, from the Big Lie to the January 6 riots, to new waves of voter suppression and a new electoral disruption front." - said in a statement by the US President.

"Domestic terrorism"

We will remind, on January 6, supporters of the 45th US President Donald Trump broke into the congress building.

They wanted to prevent the approval of the results of the November 3, 2020 election of the head of the White House, which was won by Joe Biden.

Trump supporters disagreed with the voting results and called them rigged.

Trump himself has repeatedly made this statement.

The elected head of the White House accused the former US leader of encouraging unrest in Washington, and called the participants in the assault "internal terrorists."

• Washington, January 6

• Reuters

• © Leah Millis

After coming to power, Biden instructed law enforcement agencies to investigate what had happened.

The investigation is still being carried out, in particular, by the FBI and the US Department of Justice.

Hundreds of people who are accused of criminal acts were under investigation.

In addition to investigating, Biden also decided to tackle changes in US suffrage.

In March 2021, he signed an Executive Order Expanding Voting Opportunities to facilitate access to voter registration for Native Americans, non-whites, prisoners, the military, and people with disabilities.

In particular, as explained in a newsletter on the White House website, representatives of the "non-white electorate" are more likely to face long queues at polling stations, and they are also "more limited in their ability to vote by mail."

As for Native Americans, they, as noted in the Biden administration, lack polling stations and voter registration places near their homes.

To combat these problems, the American authorities have proposed to improve federal Internet portals where voters can find information about voting they are interested in and register.

"Expand the influence of the Democratic Party"

As noted by Konstantin Blokhin, a leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, through changes in the electoral legislation, Biden wants, first of all, to increase the number of people loyal to the Democrats in light of preparations for the elections to the House of Representatives, which will be held next year.

“Biden needs to win over as many colored electorate as possible and those who could potentially vote for representatives of the Democratic Party.

The number of such people is increasing, but not always and not everyone has the opportunity to vote.

The US President wants to create mechanisms that will expand the influence of the Democratic Party on the minds of voters, "the analyst said in a conversation with RT.

In turn, Yuri Rogulev, director of the Franklin Roosevelt Foundation for the Study of the United States at Moscow State University, noted that Democrats are interested in certain categories of citizens who could vote for them.

“Representatives of the Democratic Party are trying to maintain their colossal influence on the African American electorate and Latin American voters, and are also trying to attract new representatives of this segment of society to their side.

The number of people of color in the United States is growing as a result of uncontrolled migration, so the Democrats have something to work on, ”said the interlocutor of RT.

At the same time, Rogulyov stated that a number of regulatory documents concerning electoral law are already in force in the United States.

“These documents indicate that any discrimination in elections is prohibited.

And the southern states are now mostly not breaking those rules.

However, Biden is resorting to some kind of maneuver to increase the chances of Democrats in the upcoming elections to the House of Representatives, ”the expert said.

In turn, Konstantin Blokhin recalled that after voting by mail during the presidential election, many Americans, and not only Republicans, still believe that the vote was not fair.

“Now Biden is trying to put out the fire of those who disagree with his measures,” the expert suggested.

• U.S. Presidential Election, November 3, 2020

• Reuters

• © Lawrence Bryant

Democrats stepped up their activities in this direction in order to respond to those Americans who do not share the opinion about the honesty of the last US elections, added Yuri Rogulyov.

“The Democratic Party needs to close this agenda, somehow muffle the voices from all sides that Biden became president as a result of machinations.

Indeed, during those elections, because of the pandemic, Americans could vote in advance or by mail.

It was also allowed to cast votes on unregistered lists, ”the analyst recalled.

However, Blokhin believes that no matter how the current US president positions himself as a consolidator of American society, "there is no stability in this area."

According to him, the attempts of the head of state to change the electoral law only intensify the split in society and heat up the situation.

“There is an even greater gap between those who believe in the honesty of the past presidential elections, and those who consider their results illegal. The situation around all this can lead to unpredictable consequences. The assault in Washington on January 6 seemed like some kind of fantasy, but in the end it turned out to be a reality. With such an approach, confrontation in American society cannot be avoided by the current administration, ”the expert concluded.