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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, is joined by Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, left, and Senator Jeff Merkley, Democrat, speaking during a news conference to announce the introduction of S.1. Act for the People in Washington on Wednesday, March 17, 2021.
Caroline Breiman | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
Senate Republicans are preparing to block a sprawling bill on Democrats’ voting rights and government ethics on Tuesday, as federal efforts to respond to a series of restrictive ballot laws passed by legislatures in GOP-controlled states arrive.
The For the People Act aims to create automatic voter registration, expand early voting, ensure more transparency in political donations, and reduce partisan drawing for congressional districts, among other provisions. Democrats have called for reforms ahead of the 2020 election, but have called them more necessary to protect the democratic process after former President Donald Trump’s false allegations of election fraud led to an attack on the Capitol and restrictive voting measures for the state.
The House passed its version of the bill in March. The measure will likely fail a procedural test in a Senate vote later Tuesday, as Republicans indicate they will vote against the start of debate on the bill.
The plan would need 60 votes to advance in the Senate, split 50-50 by party.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, said before the vote, “Should the US Senate even debate how to protect the voting rights of our citizens? There is only one right answer.” About the bill will highlight efforts at the state level to “disenfranchisement.”
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Republicans framed the legislation as a power grab by Democrats. They argued that states, not the federal government, should have leeway to make election laws.
The Republican Party has also questioned the need for a new bill to protect voting rights. Republicans have downplayed restrictive laws in states like Georgia and Florida, which have taken steps including making it harder for absentee voting and limiting ballot boxes. Critics of the measures say they will disproportionately hurt voters of color and give Republican Party officials more power over election results.
Ahead of the Senate vote, Kentucky Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called the Democrats’ bill a “transparent partisan plan,” stressing that it was in the works before Republican-led legislatures passed voting laws.
“The Senate is just an obstacle when the policy is flawed and the process is corrupt,” he said.
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) participates in a press conference by Republican senators on the “HR1 – for the People’s Act” bill on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 17, 2021.
Leah Mehlis | Reuters
Schumer countered the argument that the federal government should not exercise its will over election laws. He referred to previous bills such as the Voting Rights Act, which protects voters from discrimination.
The chance of reviving the For the People Act in the current Senate is slim. At least two Democrats — Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kirsten Sinema of Arizona — oppose repealing legislative stalling, which would allow the party to pass more bills without Republicans.
The Liberals urged the party to scrap the 60-vote threshold, while Democrats seek to achieve their priorities by seizing control of the White House and narrow majorities in the House and Senate.
But Manchin indicated he would oppose the Democratic-led bill, which could eliminate the chances of it being passed even without stalling. He said he wants to pass the voting rights plan with the support of the Republican Party, despite opposition from Republicans to more modest plans to protect access to the ballot.
Manchin has proposed a potential compromise, which includes provisions backed by Democrats such as 15 days of early voting for federal elections and automatic voter registration at state auto agencies. It also calls for voter identification requirements, which Republicans have typically supported.
McConnell dropped the plan, arguing that it contained the “corrupt core” of the Democrats bill.
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