Former President Barack Obama slammed the GOP for "systematically" trying to prevent Americans from voting in a campaign speech for Virginia Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe.
While campaigning in Richmond on Saturday, the former president shared that his party is trying to make voting easier but is being met with resistance.
"All across the country, Democrats are trying to make it easier to vote, not make it harder to vote and push back on Republicans who are trying to systematically prevent ordinary citizens from making their voices heard," Obama said.
"You have to ask yourself, why is it Republicans don't want you to vote?" he asked.
Mr. Obama was met with backlash from McAuliffe's Republican adversary Glenn Youngkin. A spokesperson for Youngkin, Christian Martinez, commented on the former president's remarks calling them completely false and saying that they are only trying to bail McAuliffe out.
"Glenn has addressed this multiple times before Obama came to Virginia to bail Terry out, but instead of writing a story about the former President's false statements, the press is indulging Terry's fantasies and lies because he can't run on his failed record and radical vision for the future," Martinez told Fox News.
Currently, McAuliffe and Youngkin are in a dead-even fight with a little over a week before election day. A survey from Monmouth University found that both candidates received 46% of likely voters.
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The campaign has had a lot of high-profile attention, with Vice President Kamala Harris supporting McAuliffe earlier this month in campaign videos. However, the ads were questioned as they were shown in churches, something that may be illegal.
Still, both candidates have taken hard stances on school curriculum and abortion laws in recent days. Youngkin vowed to ban the teaching of critical race theory on his first day of office. He also said he would work to ban abortion if elected.
Meanwhile, McAuliffe has taken the opposing view on just about all of Youngkin's policies, receiving support from many high up in the democratic party.
The election will take place on Nov. 2
