Executive Orders: Promoting Access to Voting
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Call Script
My name is __________. I am a constituent, and my zip code is _______. I am a member of Indivisible SF.
We commend you for issuing your March 2021 Executive Order on Promoting Access to Voting, on the anniversary of the Selma voting rights march. As a member of Indivisible SF, I support the call of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights for renewed action by all government agencies to implement that order, because MAGA Republicans haven’t stopped implementing new ways to restrict our voting rights, with their latest efforts aimed at curbing the youth vote.
Background
President Biden took office only a couple of weeks after the MAGA Republican insurrection demonstrated the urgency of strengthening our democracy. On March 7, 2021, the anniversary of the Selma voting rights march, he signed an Executive Order on Promoting Access to Voting (Voting Access EO). It called upon all government agencies to use their programs to expand voter registration opportunities and help overcome obstacles that prevent people from registering to vote.
In the two years since, with too many MAGA Republicans in the House and Senate, passing legislation on voting rights has been nearly impossible. This leaves thorough implementation of the Voting Access EO as one of the most effective means available for the Biden-Harris administration to secure the right to vote for all eligible Americans.
To support this effort, Indivisible, Fair Fight Action, the ACLU, the NAACP, AFSCME, AAPI Vote, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and many other activist groups have united to formed a coalition of voting rights advocates. In its letter to the president and executive branch leaders, the coalition summarizes the progress the Biden-Harris administration has made and highlights how a more concerted implementation of the Voting Access EO throughout the federal government would bring the ballot to millions of Americans whose rights are currently restricted. The administration can do still more to achieve this:
We urge the Biden-Harris administration to make fulfilling the promise of the Executive Order on Promoting Access to Voting a top priority in the final two years of this term. Now is the time to finish the job by fully implementing this administration’s strong commitment to protecting the right to vote and to ensure all federal agencies are prepared to support their constituents in participating in our democracy.
References
Strengthening Democracy: A Progress Report on Federal Agency Action to Promote Access to Voting (PDF), The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, March 2023
In Selma, Biden stresses voting rights in face of divided Congress, Washington Post, 3/05/2023 (Gifted article- no paywall)
Remarks by President Biden Commemorating the 58th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday, The White House, 3/05/2023
Statement by Vice President Harris on the 58th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday, The White House, 3/05/2023
FACT SHEET: The Biden-Harris Administration Continues to Promote Access to Voting | The White House, 3/5/2023
House Republicans Request DOJ’s Plan To Implement Biden’s Pro-Voting Executive Order - Democracy Docket, 10/19/2922
Fact Sheet: President Biden to Sign Executive Order to Promote Voting Access | The White House, 3/07/2021