All of the Senate Republicans voted to stop the debate (and vote) of the historic voting rights bill — For the People Act. The vote was 50 Republicans to 50 Democrats, ten short needed to overcome the filibuster. The same bill passed the House of Representatives on March 3, reports Democracy Now.
The New York Times notes the bill would protect voters’ rights, which are being undermined in some Republican states:
The Democrats’ voting rights bill would usher in the largest federally mandated expansion of voting rights since the 1960s, ban partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts, force super PACs to disclose their big donors and create a new public campaign financing system. It would also effectively blunt laws adopted in 14 Republican-led states so far making it harder for people of color and young people to vote, or shifting power over elections to Republican legislatures.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has consistently defended Republicans and has insisted he could get the 10 votes, but failed as expected.
Sen. Manchin on voting to begin debate on voting rights legislation: “Unfortunately, my Republican colleagues refused to allow debate of this legislation despite the reasonable changes made to focus the bill on the core issues facing our democracy.”
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) June 22, 2021
(Sources: The New York Times, C-SPAN, Kyle Griffin/Twitter, Democracy Now)