Merrick Garland said the Justice Department will swiftly increase its resources dedicated to enforcing voting rights protections.
He cited a 2013 decision by the Supreme Court as well as bills being pushed by conservatives across the country that aim to tighten election procedures.
In a speech delivered at the department's headquarters, Garland said that in the next 30 days he will double the civil rights division's staff dedicated to protecting the right to vote. "To meet the challenge of the current moment, we must rededicate the resources of the Department of Justice to a critical part of its original mission: Enforcing federal law to protect the franchise for all voters," Garland said.
The attorney general alluded to a 2020 election recount underway in Arizona's Maricopa County, which is supported by former President Donald Trump. The Justice Department wrote in a letter last month that the review by the state's Republican Senate may violate federal law.
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