Bipartisan Voting Legislation Defeated by Senate Filibuster
Freedom to Vote Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act Blocked
Party-Line Vote Fails to Overcome Obstruction
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Earlier this week, the Senate failed to break a GOP filibuster on voting legislation that combines key provisions of two bills, dealing a setback to Democrats who have made efforts to counter new voting restrictions in Republican-led states. In a vote that split evenly along party lines, 49-51, the Senate rejected the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The measure failed to garner the 60 votes needed to overcome the filibuster, a maneuver that allows the minority party to block legislation. The Freedom to Vote Act would have set baseline standards for voter access, including expanding early voting, same-day registration, and automatic voter registration. The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would have restored important protections against racial discrimination in voting that were weakened by the Supreme Court in 2013. President Joe Biden has called for an end to the filibuster to allow for the passage of federal voting rights bills, but two Democratic senators, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, have objected to changing the Senate's rules. Without their support, the Democrats do not have the 50 votes needed to eliminate the filibuster. As a result, federal voting-rights legislation is likely to remain blocked indefinitely.
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