Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a fourth Democratic attempt to begin considering elections and voting legislation on the floor, casting fresh doubt on the majority party’s ability to enact any type of reform this Congress.
In a 50-49 vote, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) joined Democrats to move forward on legislation that would restore a requirement that certain jurisdictions receive a green light from the Justice Department or a D.C.-based federal court before changing voting laws or procedure….
“This is our fourth, and I think final, attempt to find partners across the aisle who will defend the right of every American to vote,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) “We’ve given it every possible effort over now five months, four different strategies. It’s not going to happen, so we’re going to have to do it with 50 members. And we’re going to have to sit down and decide how we’re going to do it.”
That’s not necessarily the conclusion Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), is coming to, after extensive outreach to the other side of the aisle on voting. “We’ve got Lisa Murkowski, we just need nine more,” Manchin said. “We need other people to be talking to each other and find a pathway forward. It can’t just be one or two people talking to both sides.”…
While progressives widely viewed Democrats’ other elections and ethics reform as the vehicle to kill the filibuster, there’s no sign that Manchin or his colleague Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) will relax their opposition to scrapping the 60-vote threshold required to quash a minority-party blockade of most bills in the upper chamber. And Manchin has already indicated he does not support a carveout just for voting.
“We need two people to change their minds,” said Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii). “At least two Democrats need to change their minds on the filibuster.”