Two years ago, on the anniversary of the historic civil rights demonstration in Alabama known as Bloody Sunday, President Biden targeted this serious problem with an executive order committing the federal government to expanding voter registration and voting information access.
Amid the current impasse on federal voting rights legislation, robust implementation of this executive order is the primary tool the federal government has to ensure that every eligible voter has access to the ballot box before the next presidential election.
To see how it’s going so far, last week a group of voting rights and other organizations released [SEE]
detailing what has been done and what is still needed from agencies to ensure every eligible American has easy access to voter registration, voting information, and voting itself.
In an era of increased barriers to the ballot in many states, the report estimates that robust implementation of the president’s executive order to promote voting access across 10 federal agencies could result in 3.5 million additional voter registrations per year.
Building on 1993’s “motor voter law,” the order directs federal agencies to implement creative approaches to making it easier to apply to register to vote, obtain information about voting, and participate in the electoral process.
There’s been some progress, but the administration needs to do much more — and the clock is ticking.
The report evaluates the progress of 10 federal agencies in responding to President Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Access to Voting, issued two years ago on the anniversary of the Selma voting rights march.
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