Senate Republicans Block Dems Power Grab “For The People Act” Election Reform Bill
Senate Republicans stopped sweeping election and campaign finance reform legislation on Tuesday, which Democrats say is critical to guaranteeing voting rights and safeguarding democracy, but Republicans call a political power grab.
The “For the People Act” lacked 60 votes to pass a procedural vote in the Senate on Tuesday, but Republicans filibustered the bill, thus killing it before it could be debated. On the motion to continue, no Republicans joined the 50 Democrats.
Republicans will not stand for Democrats’ effort to impose stricter voting rules on states that would “rig” elections in their favor, according to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. He dubbed the roughly 900-page bill’s content “rotten.”
The rotten inner workings of Democrats' S.1 power grab have been thoroughly exposed to the light. Whichever label Democrats slap on their bill, the substance remains the same. https://t.co/1mU9ghcajr
— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) June 22, 2021
Republicans objected to federal standards being imposed on state elections, claiming that it would erode state ID requirements. They also oppose the creation of a new public funding system for congressional elections and the politicization of the Federal Elections Commission, which is responsible for enforcing campaign finance rules.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, a Republican moderate, said she couldn’t accept the “partisan federal takeover of the election system.”
She stated in a floor address that she supports parts of the bill and would co-sponsor the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, but that she cannot support Democrats’ “one-size-fits-all” changes.
Democrats framed the bill as an urgent priority to save democracy, with the White House on their side, in the face of GOP efforts in state legislatures across the country to pass “voter suppression laws” in the aftermath of former President Trump’s 2020 election loss and claims of widespread voter fraud.
Under a statement supporting the bill, President Biden’s White House stated, “Democracy is in peril, here, in America. The right to vote – a sacred right in this country – is under assault with an intensity and an aggressiveness we have not seen in a long time.”
The White House is so concerned about voting rights that Vice President Kamala Harris presided over the Senate floor discussion Tuesday evening and announced the 50-50 vote. She went on to say that the White House is dedicated to ensuring that everyone has access to the polls.
She told reporters in the Capitol, “The fight is not over.”
There is no coherent rationale for a federal takeover of elections in all 50 states.
Today, the Senate will put an end to Democrats’ attempted power grab, S. 1. pic.twitter.com/e4UCPnNgrB
— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) June 22, 2021
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., accused Republicans of being “afraid” to discuss the benefits of voting rights because they’d have to explain their attempts to disenfranchise people if they did.
“I want to be clear about what just happened on the Senate floor. Every single Senate Republican just voted against starting debate … on legislation to protect Americans’ voting rights.” Schumer said after the vote.
“This vote, I’m ashamed to say, is further evidence that voter suppression has become part of the official platform of the Republican Party.” he said.
BREAKING: Senate Republicans block Democrats' voting rights bill from advancing https://t.co/gsTUaEehrE
— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 22, 2021
The “For the People Act” was given the numbers H.R. 1 and S.1 in the House and Senate, respectively, to indicate that it was the Democratic leadership’s first priority. The measure has already cleared the House of Representatives with no Republican backing.
If enacted, the voting rights bill will target big-money contributors and dark money in politics by mandating more transparency of campaign funders and disclaimers on political ads. Candidates for president would also have to disclose their tax records.
It would establish a new 6-1 public matching funding system for congressional races in order to promote greater grassroots contributions and compel states to establish independent redistricting commissions to avoid party gerrymandering.
In addition, the bill would establish fundamental election criteria for states, such as requiring at least 15 days of early voting, establishing automated voter registration, and allowing the use of student IDs or signed written declarations in states that require voter identification.
Despite the fact that all 50 Democrats voted to debate the measure, with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., reaching a last-minute agreement with Schumer, Democrats remain bitterly split on what to do next.
A top Democratic political adviser blasted his own party for wasting time on the failed S.1 bill.
According to a article from POLITICO, Dmitri Mehlhorn, a close confidant of Democratic donor Reid Hoffman, claimed that the legislative drive was dooming the party and “dragging me and my country off a cliff.”
Progressives are requesting that Senate Democrats remove the legislative filibuster so that they may enact broad electoral changes, a measure to grant D.C. statehood, and gun control and police reform legislation without the backing of the Republican Party.
However, Manchin and Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema have acknowledged their opposition to removing the filibuster, implying that any route forward on voting changes will need GOP backing.
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