Voting changes by US Republicans spark reaction from Justice Dept

Attorney General Merrick Garland promises to defend the ‘cornerstone of our democracy’ against challenges by Republican states.

The United States Justice Department will review and challenge a series of new laws being proposed and passed by Republicans that would restrict voting rights in key US states, Attorney General Merrick Garland has announced. “The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, the right from which all other rights flow,” Garland said on Friday. The new focus on federal enforcement of voting rights laws by Garland, the Biden administration’s top law enforcement official, comes as Republicans in Georgia, Florida, Arizona and Arkansas have passed new laws since the 2020 presidential election that critics say would make it harder for people to vote.