U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) attends a press conference at the Marriott Hotel on Waterfront Place in Morgantown, West Virginia on June 3, 2021.
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Senator Joe Manchin said Sunday will vote against the sweeping federal election reform bill introduced by the Democrats in Congress and the so-called For the People Act, a move that essentially guarantees that legislation in Congress will not pass becomes.
“I believe the partisan electoral law will destroy the already debilitating blinds of our democracy, and for that reason I will vote against the For The People Act,” the moderate West Virginia Democrat wrote in a commentary mail published in the Charleston Gazette .
“The truth, I would argue, is that voting and electoral reforms carried out in a partisan manner will, in effect, ensure that the partisan divisions deepen,” wrote Manchin.
The Voting Rights Act, also known as S.1, would require at least 10 GOP votes to overcome the filibuster and get a final vote on the passage.
The law contains provisions designed to, among other things, facilitate registration and elections, combat gerrymandering, improve electoral cybersecurity, and reform campaign finance. Republicans have spoken out against it, and without Manchin’s support, the law is unlikely to pass.
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Manchin said he would instead support the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would reinstate a provision of the landmark voting rights law that was weakened by the Supreme Court in 2013.
Manchin also reiterated that he would not support the elimination of the filibuster, a move that would block parts of President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda on issues such as voting rights and climate change.
The filibuster requires the legislature to receive 60 Senate votes, split 50-50 equally between Democrats and Republicans.
Democrats have pushed for elimination or reform of the filibuster to pass electoral reform law. Biden has said he supports the reform but not the elimination of the filibuster.
