The White House on Thursday admonished Florida for enacting a new voting law that will make it more difficult for some in the state to vote.
"The 2020 election was one of the most secure elections in American history. There’s no legitimate reason to change the rules right now to make it harder to vote. That’s built on a lie," deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One.
"The only reason to change the rules right now is if you don’t like who voted, and that should be out of bounds," she continued. "There’s some states with bad laws trying to make them good. And some states with good laws trying to make them even better. That’s moving forward. Florida is moving in the wrong direction."
Jean-Pierre reiterated the White House's support for legislation that has passed the House, H.R. 1, that would expand access to mail-in ballots, early voting and automatic registration, among other facets. The bill is unlikely to pass in the Senate in its current form.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) earlier Thursday signed the state's new voting legislation into law during a political event broadcast live on Fox News and attended by supporters. The new law will restrict the use of ballot drop boxes, implement additional requirements for voters to sign up for mail-in ballots and impose additional identification rules.
Critics have argued the law will make it more difficult for minorities and other groups to vote, and they have questioned the need for the new measures given Florida did not see any meaningful levels of fraud in the 2020 election. Former President Trump won the state by nearly 400,000 votes.
Republicans have said the measures are meant to improve confidence in elections after what federal officials then working for the Trump administration called the safest and most secure elections conducted in American history.