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Senator Joe Manchin announces opposition to voting rights bill

Jun 07, 2021

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WASHINGTON (AP) — A key Democratic senator says he will not vote for the largest overhaul of U.S. election law in at least a generation, leaving no plausible path forward for legislation that his party and the White House have portrayed as crucial for protecting access to the ballot.

“Voting and election reform that is done in a partisan manner will all but ensure partisan divisions continue to deepen,″ Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia wrote in a home-state newspaper, the Charleston Gazette-Mail.

He wrote that failure to bring together both parties on voting legislation would “risk further dividing and destroying the republic we swore to protect and defend as elected officials.”

The bill would restrict partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts, strike down hurdles to voting and bring transparency to a murky campaign finance system. Among dozens of other provisions, it would require states to offer 15 days of early voting and allow no-excuse absentee balloting.

Democrats have pushed the legislation as the antidote to a wave of restrictive state voting laws sweeping the country, many inspired by former President Donald Trump’s false claims of fraud in his 2020 election loss. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has pledged to bring the election bill to a vote the week of June 21, testing where senators stand. But without Manchin’s support, the bill has no chance of advancing. Republicans are united against it.

Gwen Baumgardner: RIGHT NOW — THE DEMOCRATIC DREAM OF A VOTING RIGHTS BILL APPEARS DEAD IN THE WATER.
I’M GWEN WITH STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS.

THIS VIDEO IS FROM A SENATE RULES COMMITTEE DEBATE ON H-R 1 — ALSO KNOW AS THE “FOR THE PEOPLE ACT”.
THE BILL WOULD HAVE REQUIRED STATES TO EXPAND MAIL-IN VOTING — WHILE ALSO LENGTHENING THE HOURS OF IN-PERSON BALLOTING. BUT ON SUNDAY
DEMOCRATIC SENATOR JOE MANCHIN SAID HE’LL OPPOSE H-R 1.
IN AN OP-ED FOR THE CHARLESTON GAZETTE MAIL, MANCHIN WROTE “I BELIEVE THAT PARTISAN VOTING LEGISLATION WILL DESTROY THE ALREADY WEAKENING BINDS OF OUR DEMOCRACY.”
INSTEAD, HE *WOULD SUPPORT THE JOHN LEWIS VOTING RIGHTS ADVANCEMENT ACT.
THAT BILL — WHICH HAS RECEIVED BROADER BIPARTISAN SUPPORT — REQUIRES FEDERAL CLEARANCE BEFORE RE-DRAWING VOTING DISTRICTS.

THIS ISN’T THE FIRST TIME SENATOR MANCHIN HAS PLAYED A PIVOTAL ROLE.
FOR MORE ON THE SENATE POWER HE HOLDS — CHECK OUT SHANNON LONGWORTH’S “JUST ONE NAME” STORY BY CLICKING THE LINK BELOW.

FOR MORE DAILY NEWS — AND IN-DEPTH EXPLAINER PIECES — KEEP IT RIGHT HERE ON STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS DOT COM.