Biden to deliver voting rights speech in Philadelphia

President Biden will deliver remarks next week on voting rights in Pennsylvania, the White House said Friday, weeks after the president first pledged he would go on the road to discuss the need to strengthen and protect ballot access.

Biden will speak in Philadelphia on Tuesday. Further details were not immediately available, but the announcement came weeks after Biden first said he would speak on voting rights at length after Senate Republicans blocked passage of the For the People Act, a sweeping elections bill supported by the administration.

The president has repeatedly spoken about voting rights as a top priority for his administration, warning that democracy is under attack as GOP-led legislatures enact stricter voting laws following the 2020 election, which saw record turnout.

Vice President Harris has been tasked with leading the administration’s efforts on protecting voting rights. She has met with state and local officials, and on Thursday announced a $25 million expansion of the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) “I Will Vote” initiative.

The White House has said the president is looking at other actions the federal government can take to protect voting rights at a time when some progressives and activists are growing impatient with what they see as a lack of urgency on the issue.

“So, certainly, the President would love to sign a piece of voting rights legislation into law. He is — looks forward to doing that,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday. “But he also knows that there are a number of levers from the federal government that we should continue to use, and he’s not waiting to have the legislation on his desk.”