Garland Expands DOJ’s Voting Rights Unit
So far this year, 14 Republican-controlled states have passed 22 voting restriction laws in an attempt to disenfranchise millions of black and brown voters.
The GOP election strategy of introducing hundreds of state laws that make it harder for people of color to vote is a direct attack on American multi-racial democracy by a Republican Party that has fully embraced Trump’s Big Lie. Attorney General Merrick Garland vows to expand the Justice Department and challenge the restrictive GOP voting laws.
By Amy Gardner and Sean Sullivan
“To meet the challenge of the current moment, we must rededicate the resources of the Department of Justice to a critical part of its original mission: Enforcing federal law to protect the franchise of all eligible voters,” Garland said in his address to department employees.
The department’s moves amount to the administration’s most direct response yet to the rising concerns about the GOP’s efforts and a recognition that attempts to discredit the outcome of the election, while baseless, are not likely to dissipate.
People opposed to Texas voter bills HB6 and SB7 hold signs during a news conference on the steps of the State Capitol in Austin.