President Biden on Tuesday condemned Republican state election reforms during a speech in Pennsylvania — hours after former President Donald Trump called his visit a “joke” aimed at derailing an audit of the state’s 2020 results.
Biden spoke near Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were adopted. He kicked off his remarks with a self-deprecating joke, saying, “I used to be important” back when he chaired the board of the center.
Biden gave a shout-out to Rev. Al Sharpton, who he recently hosted at the White House to talk about the issue.
“The 21st century Jim Crow assault is real. It’s unrelenting. We’re gonna challenge it, vigorously,” Biden said in a speech at the National Constitution Center.
Biden touted a federal election overhaul stalled in Congress that would override state laws. But he also took the bait and engaged in debate over audits of the 2020 election pushed by Trump.
“Audits and recounts were conducted in Arizona and Wisconsin. In Georgia, it was recounted three times,” Biden said. “The big lie is just that, a big lie. The 2020 election — it’s not hyperbole to suggest — is the most examined and the fullest expression of the will of people in the history of this nation.”
Biden slammed Trump and his allies, saying, “we continue to see an example of human nature at its worst, something darker and more sinister. In America, if you lose, you accept the results, you follow the Constitution. You try again. You don’t call facts fake and then try to bring down the American experiment just because you’re unhappy.”
Trump allies have pointed out that former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s supporters questioned the results of the 2016 election and voted to reject state electors — before claiming Trump was part of a Kremlin conspiracy to steal the election.
Trump claimed just before Biden flew to Pennsylvania that the president’s visit was “a joke” and intended to counter efforts by Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano to pursue an audit of 2020 results.
Biden won Pennsylvania by more than 80,000 votes, according to official results, but Mastriano last week requested information from county officials and threatened subpoenas — opening a new front in an effort by Trump allies to undercut Biden’s narrow swing-state wins.
“Joe Biden is going to Pennsylvania today in a rush in order to stop the Forensic Audit that the Pennsylvania Republican Senate is in the process of doing. Philadelphia was a cesspool of corruption, which will soon be revealed by the audit,” Trump said.
“Why are they so concerned that a President, who never goes anywhere, would hop onto beautiful Air Force One and head to Philadelphia if it were an honest election? Why not let the audit go forward and make everybody, on both sides, happy?”
Trump added: “Joe should say go forward with this, with all of these audits. His visit is a joke. He doesn’t need to visit, all he needs to do is let them do an audit and find out what happened. Who knows, maybe they’ll say the election was on the up and up, but many people would be shocked.”
Trump’s claims of election fraud were rejected by courts last year, but his allies in Arizona, Georgia and other states have continued to argue for careful re-examination of votes amid a surge in mail-in ballots due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Biden also blasted a recent Supreme Court decision that upheld Arizona policies that restrict so-called “ballot harvesting,” in which people collect other people’s absentee ballots, and that allow votes to be tossed out if a person votes in the wrong precinct.
“Just weeks ago, the Supreme Court yet again weakened the Voting Rights Act and upheld what Justice Kagan called ‘a significant race-based disparity in voting opportunities.’ The court’s decision, as harmful as is, does not limit the Congress’s ability to repair the damage done,” Biden said.
In pointed commentary on the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, Biden said that “democracy held” in the US despite coming “close” to failing when a mob of Trump’s supporters stormed the building and interrupted certification of Biden’s victory.
“Folks, we met the test because of the extraordinary courage of elected officials, many of them Republicans, our court system and those brave Capitol police officers. Because of them, Democracy held. Look at how close it came. I mean, for real, how close it came. We’re gonna face another test in 2022, a new wave of unprecedented voter suppression and raw and sustained election subversion. We have to prepare now,” Biden said.
Republicans often accuse Biden of misrepresenting GOP state-level reforms to push far-reaching federal changes.
He also weighed in on a Texas struggle over election policies that’s seen the state legislature’s Democrats flee the state to prevent a legislative quorum.
“In Texas, for example, the Republican legislature wants to allow partisan poll watchers to intimidate voters and impartial poll workers. They want voters to dive further, and be able to be in a position where they wonder who’s watching them… To wait longer to vote, drive a hell of a long[er]… they want to make it so hard and convenient that they hope people don’t vote at all,” Biden contended.
Election reform has become a base-rallying cause for both parties in Washington, though significant federal legislation is stalled due to staunch Republican opposition.
Critics say Biden has misrepresented state policies to justify federal changes. The Washington Post, which endorsed Biden, awarded him “Four Pinocchios” in April for spreading misinformation about a new Georgia law’s impact on voting hours.
The Georgia law, which Biden said was worse than racist “Jim Crow” policies, does not alter Election Day hours but expands early voting by adding a second mandatory Saturday. It affirms that counties have the option of opening for early voting on two Sundays and allows counties to extend early voting hours beyond standard business hours. Democrats oppose provisions that require a photo ID to get an absentee ballot and shorten the window of time to vote absentee. It also allows state officials to take over local election offices in response to alleged misconduct.
The stalled Democratic bill in Congress would require states to allow same-day voter registration and mandate two weeks of early voting. And it would also make Election Day a holiday. Republicans denounce provisions that would allow for so-called “ballot harvesting,” publicly finance political campaigns and enhance the power of the Federal Election Commission.
