LIVE: Biden Faces Fresh Voting-Rights Pressure With Texas Showdown | Top News

(July 13) Democratic lawmakers in Texas left the state to prevent Republicans from passing new voting restrictions, raising pressure on President Joe Biden to push through federal ballot expansions his allies complain are stalled in Congress.

In Detroit on Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris applauded the move by Texas Democrats, who planned to fly to Washington to prevent a quorum in a special session of the state Legislature, thereby blocking any votes on the measures. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, accused the lawmakers of abandoning their constituents.

Harris said the Democrats had shown “extraordinary courage and commitment. They are leaders who are marching in the path that so many others before did when they fought and many who died for our right to vote.”

She visited Michigan both to discuss Republican-led efforts to curb ballot access with local leaders and encourage coronavirus vaccinations. On Tuesday, Biden is scheduled to deliver a speech on voting rights in Philadelphia.

“I do believe that fighting for the right to vote is as American as apple pie,” Harris said.

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