May 28, 2021 - Politics & Policy

Schumer says Senate will vote on major election reform bill in June

Axios

Chuck SChumer — Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The Senate will vote on Democrats' landmark elections overhaul bill — the "For the People Act," also known as H.R. 1 or S. 1 — in the last week of June, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a letter to colleagues on Friday.

Why it matters: The sprawling voting reform and anti-corruption legislation is viewed as a top priority for Democrats, who are seeking to combat the wave of restrictive voting bills making their way through Republican state legislatures across the country.

The bill faces an uphill climb in the 50-50 Senate, where it needs 60 votes in order to advance. At least one Democrat, moderate Sen. Joe Manchin, has expressed resistance to some elements of the reform package.
Schumer's announcement came just minutes after Republicans invoked the first legislative filibuster of the Biden presidency in order to block a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. The For the People Act will likely face a similar fate.

What they're saying: Schumer said the legislation is "essential to defending our democracy, reducing the influence of dark money and powerful special interests, and stopping the wave of Republican voter suppression happening in the states across the country in service of President Trump’s Big Lie."

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Schumer says Senate will vote on major election reform bill in June

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