BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) According to the US Chinese website, US President Biden signed an executive order on the 7 th to use federal resources to protect and increase the chances of voters voting. The executive order will instruct institutions to increase voters’ access to registration materials and reduce voting obstacles for certain groups, including military institutions, overseas voters, aborigines and the disabled.
Government officials said that the executive order was aimed at directly responding to the riots in the Capitol on January 6, the allegations of fraud in the 2020 general election by former President Trump and his allies, and the subsequent restrictions on voting rights taken by multi-state legislatures.
Biden’s executive order will encourage federal agencies to use websites and social media platforms to share information about voter registration and promote the application of mailing votes in the course of regular services.
The order also aims to transform Vote.gov, an official voter registration website run by the federal government, to improve accessibility and user experience.
The rest of the order will focus on strengthening the participation of specific groups facing voting obstacles. For example, the order will instruct the Attorney General to establish regulations to provide educational materials about voting for eligible voters under the jurisdiction of the Federal Prison Service.
The order will also establish a steering group for indigenous voting rights.
But Biden’s measures to improve voting channels will not replace state laws, because elections are managed by state and local officials. After the surge in postal votes during the epidemic, Republican-controlled States moved quickly to restrict postal votes.
Up to now, 43 States have proposed more than 250 bills seeking to restrict voting channels. Swing states Georgia and Arizona have passed initiatives to limit absentee ballots and early voting.
On the other hand, congressional Democrats also began to take reform measures to strengthen voting rights.
The House of Representatives previously passed a bill requiring states to provide the option of mailing ballots, and to open early voting at least 15 days before the election day, and to create online and on-day voter registration. The bill also calls for the establishment of an independent commission to divide congressional districts, so as to stop the private and improper division of constituencies for one party.
But Republicans have United against the bill, and if all Democrats in the Senate vote for it, it will take at least 10 Republican senators to pass it. Biden has urged the Senate to pass the bill.