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.