Oct 14, 2021 - Politics & Policy

Senate to vote on Manchin-backed voting rights proposal

Alayna Treene

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, flanked by Sen. Joe Manchin. Photo: Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images

The Senate will vote next week on a new voting rights bill backed by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced in a letter to colleagues on Thursday.

Why it matters: The Freedom To Vote Act is the latest attempt by Democrats to counter Republican-led measures at the state level to restrict voting access. Democrats still face the same roadblock to enacting it: the filibuster.

The renewed push comes after Congress tried, and failed, to pass comprehensive voting rights legislation earlier this year.
The difference with this bill, Democrats argue, is that it builds off a proposal from Manchin.
Manchin also has been engaging with Republicans on the bill in an attempt to garner the 10 GOP votes needed to reach the Senate's 60-vote threshold for passing major legislation.
As of now, it doesn't appear he has the votes.

Between the lines: The Senate is expected to vote on the proposal next Wednesday, a senior Democratic aide said.

What they're saying: "Senator Manchin has been engaged in conversations with our Republicans colleagues in hopes of advancing solutions on a bipartisan basis to ensure all Americans have their voice heard in our democracy," Schumer wrote in his letter.

Read the letter:

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Senate to vote on Manchin-backed voting rights proposal

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