Senate Republicans Block Democrats' Efforts To Pass Voting Rights Bill

By Associated Press
October 21, 2021

For the 3rd clip this year, Senate Democrats connected Wednesday tried to walk sweeping elections authorities that they tout arsenic a almighty counterweight to caller voting restrictions successful the states.

Once again, Republicans blocked them.

But amid the stalemate, determination are signs that Democrats are making headway successful their effort to make statement astir changing Senate procedural rules, a cardinal measurement that could let them to musculus transformative authorities done the narrowly divided chamber.

Sen. Angus King, a Maine autarkic who caucuses with Democrats, precocious eased his longstanding absorption to changing the filibuster rules, which make a 60-vote threshold for astir authorities to pass.

Democrats inactive look agelong likelihood of passing their bill, present known arsenic the Freedom to Vote Act, which Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., excoriated Wednesday arsenic a national “election takeover scheme.”

The Democrats' voting measure was archetypal introduced successful March successful the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. It rapidly passed the House astatine a clip erstwhile Republican-controlled legislatures - galore inspired by Donald Trump's mendacious claims of a stolen 2020 predetermination - were advancing restrictions successful the sanction of predetermination information that volition marque it harder to ballot and could marque the medication of the elections much taxable to partisan interference.

But archetypal optimism that the measurement would swiftly walk the Senate dissipated aft respective members of the Democratic caucus, including King, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, among others, made wide their reluctance to alteration the filibuster rules. Manchin, who has said that immoderate predetermination overhaul needs bipartisan support, besides sought changes to the voting measure to marque it much palatable to Republicans.

As written, the existent “compromise” mentation of the measure would found nationalist rules for moving elections, bounds partisanship successful the drafting of legislature districts and unit the disclosure of galore anonymous donors who walk large to power elections.

It besides includes a fig of changes sought by Manchin, the chamber’s astir blimpish Democrat, including a proviso that would limit, but not prohibit, authorities elector ID requirements.

But truthful far, those changes person not attracted the Republican enactment that Manchin was seeking.

Additional reporting by The Associated Press.