Biden says Justice Department is "taking a look" at Georgia elections law

President Joe Biden called a sweeping elections law signed by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp this week an "atrocity," and said the Justice Department is "taking a look" at the measure.

The new law includes provisions to require voter identification for absentee ballots, limit the use of ballot drop boxes, give state officials more power over elections and make it a crime to offer voters food and water as they wait in line. 

Critics argue that the law disproportionately affects Black voters, who were critical to recent Democratic victories. Mr. Biden narrowly won the state in the 2020 election, and Georgia sent two Democrats to the Senate after special elections in May.

Asked by reporters on Friday how the White House could respond to the bill, Mr. Biden said "we're working on that right now."

"We don't know quite exactly what we can do at this point. The Justice Department's taking a look as well," Mr. Biden said. 

He told reporters that the bill was an "atrocity."

Trending News
Biden says Justice Department is "taking a look" at Georgia law
Biden agenda could collide with federal judiciary remade by Trump
Michigan GOP chair seen on video calling female leaders "witches"
30 million seniors face stimulus check delays, lawmakers say
"It has nothing to do with fairness, nothing to do with decency. They passed the law saying you can't provide water for people standing in line while they're waiting to vote? You don't need anything else to know that this is nothing but punitive, designed to keep people from voting. You can't provide water for people about to vote? Give me a break," he said.

In a statement released earlier on Friday, the president urged Congress to pass voting rights legislation that would counter the Georgia law and other bills proposed by Republican state legislatures across the country that would make voting more difficult.

"This law, like so many others being pursued by Republicans in statehouses across the country is a blatant attack on the Constitution and good conscience," Mr. Biden said. He noted that longer lines at the polls disproportionately affected Black voters in metropolitan areas, as Republican officials have reduced the number of polling sites in their neighborhoods.

"This is Jim Crow in the 21st Century. It must end. We have a moral and constitutional obligation to act. I once again urge Congress to pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to make it easier for all eligible Americans access the ballot box and prevent attacks on the sacred right to vote," Mr. Biden continued.

The House recently passed the For the People Act, a sweeping bill that address elections and elections and campaign finance reform. However, it is unlikely to pass in the Senate, where most Republicans have expressed opposition to the bill. Democrats only have a 50-seat majority in the Senate, and most legislation requires 60 votes to advance.

Even if Democrats eliminated the filibuster, which would lower the threshold to a simple majority, some Democrats have also expressed concerns about the bill. Democratic Senator Joe Manchin said this week that he believed the bill should be narrowed, and Democrats and Republicans should try to pass voting rights legislation on a bipartisan basis. Manchin is also opposed to ending the filibuster.

123movies-watch-roohi-2021-online-full-free-hd

watch-roohi-2021-online-hd-full-free-123-movies

watch-godzilla-vs-kong-full-movie-online-free-hindi-download-now-2021

putlockers-watch-godzilla-vs-kong-2021-online-full-hd-for-free

watch-godzilla-vs-kong-full-movie-online-free-hd

In a letter to Democratic colleagues on Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that the Senate Judiciary Committee would soon take up the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which would restore provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act struck down by the Supreme Court. Like the For the People Act, it is unlikely to receive the needed support from 60 senators.

Meanwhile, Republicans argue that the Georgia bill does not amount to voter suppression. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has said that "the cries of 'voter suppression' from those on the left ring hollow." Kemp said that it made elections safer.

"There is nothing 'Jim Crow' about requiring a photo or state-issued ID to vote by absentee ballot. Every Georgia voter must already do so when voting in-person," Kemp said on Friday.

A pair of overnight shootings along the beachfront in Virginia Beach left two people dead and eight wounded in a scene described by authorities on Saturday as "very chaotic."

In a statement, the Virginia Beach Police Department said the first shooting occurred shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, when police who were patrolling the area heard gunfire. Police arriving at the scene found a woman who died of her injuries and eight people whose injuries were described as serious or life-threatening. In addition, an officer sustained minor injuries after being struck by a vehicle, Chief Paul Neudigate said at a news conference.

While officers were investigating the original shooting, shots were fired nearby, Neudigate said. An officer confronted a male suspect and fatally shot him. The officer has been placed on administrative leave. He has been with the department for five years and is assigned to its special operations division.

"We have a very chaotic incident, a very chaotic night," Neudigate said.

No suspect information was immediately available. Neudigate said several people were in police custody, but their possible involvement in the shooting was still under investigation. He said he believed the incidents all took place outdoors.

Two full blocks that mostly made up a city owned parking lot remained blocked off by police tape on Saturday. Dozens of cars were inside the crime scene, with officers inspecting some of them. A couple of blocks away, a car that was surrounded by police tape sat in the middle of a street.

Trending News
Here's how to track your third stimulus check
2 dead, 8 wounded in Virginia Beach oceanfront shootings
Bindi Irwin welcomes baby girl and honors her late dad with name
Renewed concern over COVID-19 trajectory, even as vaccinations rise
Akereia Drayton, who was still waiting to get her car from the lot on Saturday, said she was coming out of a club on Friday night after the shooting ended and saw "mass chaos" and many people running.

"People were literally falling over themselves," Drayton said. "There was a mass swarm of people that came to get to their cars. And then there was a wreck."

Kevin Robertson, who lives a few houses away from the parking lot, said he was on his porch when the shooting began. He said the gunfire lasted for what seemed like 15 minutes.

"There were definitely two or three guns," he said, adding that he could hear gunshots coming from different areas outside of his house as time went on.

Bill Feis, who also lives a few houses away from the parking lot, said he was in bed and could hear people talking loudly before the shooting, which he said "sounded like someone threw a package of firecrackers."