Senate GOP blocks Dems election law

The US Senate Republicans blocked Democrats Election-law push.

On June 22, Senate Republicans blocked Democrats from moving ahead with elections legislation, forcing the party to devise a new way forward after weeks of intra-party wrangling and fruitless calls from progressives to advance the bill without GOP support.

All 50 Democrats voted for the procedural measure, but it drew no Republican support, leaving it short of the 60 votes needed to overcome the bill without GOP support.

Senate Rules Committee chairman Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. said the vote wasn’t the last word on the topic and she pledged to hold hearings around the country in a bid to engage the public more broadly.

“This is not the end of the line — this is only the beginning,” she said.

Democrats have made election legislation a priority for Democratic lawmakers, who say it would preserve and expand voter access as many GOP-led states pursue tighter laws and allies of former President Donald Trump continue to challenge the 2020 election results. Republicans have called the Democrats’ push a power grab that would undercut election security.

A central element of Democratic certainty was resolved just hours ahead of the vote, when holdout Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.Va., said he would support the motion to proceed. His shift came after Democratic leaders agreed to make changes to the initial legislate, called S-1, which he opposed as too sweeping.

Signaling the importance of the effort to the White House, Vice President Kamala Harris presided over the Senate as the vote was tallied. The White House said President Biden and Democrats would continue to push the matter, without giving details.

“It will be a fight of his presidency — long past today,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D. N.Y. brought the legislation to the floor after working to navigate his Democrats through the contours of the voting measure.

Manchin negotiated with Democrats all weekend and in the hours before the vote on the contents of a compromise.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell didn’t support the elections bill.

The Democrats agree on some basic elements of any legislation, including 15 days of continuous, early voting, including on weekends, and automatic voter registration for anyone with a driver’s license, along with making Election Day a national holiday.

Some progressives have criticized Biden for not doing enough to consistently elevate the voting-rights issue.