Biden blasts 'un-American' voting limits; Texas Dems act

Evan Vucci, Associated Press count

President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting on reducing gun violence, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Monday, July 12, 2021, in Washington. Biden on Tuesday will lay out the "moral case" voting rights, delivering a much anticipated speech as he faces growing pressure from civil rights activists and other Democrats that the White House to combat efforts by Republican-led state legislatures to restrict access to the ballot.

PHILADELPHIA - President Joe Biden declared preserving voting rights an urgent national "test of our time" on Tuesday but offered few concrete proposals to meet it. Texas Democrats took their own dramatic action to stymie Republican efforts to tighten ballot restrictions in their state.

Biden, who has proclaimed protecting ballot access the central cause of his presidency, has faced sharp criticism from allies for not doing more, though political headwinds and stubborn Senate math have limited his ability to act. Despite his ringing words Tuesday, he avoided any mention of trying to alter the Senate filibuster rule that stands in the path of federal legislation.

Speaking at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Biden called state efforts to curtail voting accessibility "un-American" and "un-democratic" and launched a broadside against his predecessor, Donald Trump, who baselessly alleged misconduct in the 2020 election after his defeat. Biden called passage of congressional proposals to override new state voting restrictions and to restore parts of the Voting Rights Act that were curbed in recent years by the Supreme Court "a national imperative."

https://www.startribune.com/biden-blasts-un-american-voting-limits-texas-dems-act/600077466/