Biden: Tightening the right to vote is an attack on democracy

In the USA, the right to vote is shaped by the states.

Republican-ruled states in particular make it difficult for minorities to vote.

President Biden sees democracy in danger.

Philadelphia - The tightening of the electoral law initiated by Republicans in many states is, according to US President Joe Biden, an "attack on democracy".

The goal of the laws is that fewer and fewer people vote, warned the democrat Biden.

The efforts are un-American, undemocratic and unpatriotic, emphasized Biden in a speech in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

"Aren't you ashamed?" Asked the President, addressing the Republicans.

The undermining of the right to free and fair elections is the "most important challenge" for democracy since the American Civil War.

"We have to act," demanded Biden.

He promised to work for a reform of the electoral law that has been blocked by the Republicans in the Senate.

The Republicans had set out to invalidate votes at their discretion.

"They want the option to reject the bottom line and ignore the will of voters if their preferred candidate loses," Biden said.

In the USA, the right to vote, which is shaped by the states, is extremely competitive. Many Republican-ruled states have already passed regulations or are pursuing regulations that critics believe would make voting more difficult. When the hurdles to voting are higher, minority groups tend to stay at home in the US - and these populations are often more likely to vote for Democrats. The Republicans, on the other hand, argue that their only concern is to make electoral fraud more difficult. dpa