Biden warns of ‘sinister’ threat of GOP election meddling as he pushes voting rights bill

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President Joe Biden has emphasised the importance of voting rights ahead of next year’s midterm elections, while also issuing warnings over what he described as “sinister” efforts to subvert elections and restrict access to the franchise.

Speaking during his commencement address at South Carolina State University on Friday, the president reflected on his experience of fighting for civil and voting rights back in the 1960s, which he claimed was his biggest motivator for getting into politics.

With Mr Biden and the Democrats looking to protect voting rights in future elections, amid alleged GOP attempts to undermine the electoral process, the president took the opportunity to reflect upon the importance of safeguarding access to the ballot box.

Electoral reform appears to be focal point for the White House in the coming weeks, with the Democrats’ “Build Back Better” legislation hitting a roadblock of late.

“We have to protect that sacred right to vote, for god’s sake. Think about it. I got started in politics because of the civil rights movement,” Mr Biden stated during Friday’s speech.

“I’ve never seen anything like the unrelenting assault on the right to vote. Never. I don’t think any of you on this stage have. It’s not a joke.”

Mr Biden has cause to worry about the integrity of the electoral process, ahead of what is expected to be a pivotal 2022. Midterm elections could strip away the president’s party’s narrow majority in the House of Representatives, with the GOP widely expected to make significant gains next November.

Back in June, a civil rights bill central to expanding voting rights across the US, which was a key part of Democrats’ effort to combat a wave of restrictive voting laws proposed in nearly every state, failed to get through Congress.

GOP obstruction was central to this outcome, leading the White House to declare that “democracy was in peril”. The president issued a similarly dire warning while at South Carolina State University.

“This new sinister combination of voter suppression, election subversion, it’s un-American. It’s undemocratic and sadly, it is unprecedented since reconstruction,” the president added.

“Vice President Harris is leading the efforts for us, but on the anniversary of bloody Sunday, I directed every single federal agency in the United States government to grant access to voting – and each agency is heeding the call.

“That other team, they used to be called the Republican Party. But this battle is not over, we must pass the freedom to vote act,” he added.