White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jen O'Malley Dillion touted high voter turnout in the midterm elections on Thursday and said the "process was easier" after President Joe Biden likened new voting laws in certain states to "Jim Crow 2.0."
"Morning Joe" co-host Joe Scarborough asked Dillion what happened on Tuesday, arguing the results were better for Democrats than even the most optimistic predictions.
"We knew that turnout, if people turned out like we saw in 2020, what we would call the Biden coalition, young people, women, communities of color that are responding to actually seeing what can be delivered and the progress that we’ve made, that we would have a good night. But also I think we saw that people in places that we'll look at that had early vote and voting by mail and election-day vote, that more people were able to participate because the process was easier," Dillon responded.
She said that was "significant" and claimed the president was focused on how to "do more" to show Americans "how important their vote and their voice is" ahead of the midterm elections.
Dillion also said she believed the House was "still in play" for Democrats after co-host Willie Geist said it was likely Republicans would take control.
"But I think the president has been clear, I think the American people were clear in voting, that they want elected leaders who are working together to deliver on behalf of what they are seeing in their lives and the impacts they are feeling," she added.
The top White House aide noted the president has passed several pieces of bipartisan legislation and that he plans to continue to keep his head down and "do the work."
Biden, during a speech in Georgia on Jan. 11 about the right to vote, said election laws in Georgia and other states were like "Jim Crow 2.0."
"Jim Crow 2.0 is about two insidious things: voter suppression and election subversion. It’s no longer about who gets to vote; it’s about making it harder to vote. It’s about who gets to count the vote and whether your vote counts at all," Biden said in Atlanta, Georgia, on Jan. 11.
Early voting in Georgia's primary elections broke records and was up 168 percent this year compared to the 2018 primaries.
"It’s not just here in Georgia. Last year alone, 19 states not proposed but enacted 34 laws attacking voting rights. There were nearly 400 additional bills Republican members of state legislatures tried to pass. And now, Republican legislators in several states have already announced plans to escalate the onslaught this year," Biden said during his January speech.
Biden applauded record turnout during a speech at the White House on Wednesday.
"The states across the country saw record voter turnout. And the heart and soul of our democracy — the voters, the poll workers, the election officials — they did their job and they fulfilled their duty, and apparently without much interference at all — without any interference, it looks like," he said.
