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Senate Republicans have once again blocked a sweeping voting rights reform bill, a move that is certain to increase pressure on the majority to change the chamber’s filibuster rule.
Every Senate Republican voted against the bill, known as the Freedom to Vote Act, which would make Election Day a federal holiday, ensure that states offer same-day voting registration, guarantee at least 15 days of early voting, including two weekends, ban partisan gerrymandering of Congressional districts, create automatic voter registration programs, bolster election security and mandate donor disclosure.
Every Democrat voted in favor of the bill, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., changed his vote from a “Yes” to a “No” so he could bring up the matter again at a later date.
The Senate needs to be restored to its rightful status as the world’s greatest deliberative body.
After the Civil War, Congress passed the 14th and 15th Amendments without a single vote from the minority party.
It wasn’t partisan—it was patriotic.
Today, we feel the same. pic.twitter.com/Isnu2C8HXi
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) October 20, 2021
After the vote, Vice President Kamala Harris, who presided over the Senate Wednesday afternoon, said that Democrats are “not going to give up” on the battle over voting rights.
“Once again, Senate Republicans have blocked a procedural vote to hold debate on voting rights legislation,” Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, one of the leading voting rights advocates in the caucus, wrote on Twitter. “I remain steadfastly committed to passing voting rights this Congress — no matter what. This fight is far from over.”
Outside groups called on President Joe Biden to do more on Tuesday.
“The president must get in the game. Say into a microphone, ‘You’ve got to get rid of the filibuster,” said Meagan Hatcher-Mays of the progressive group Indivisible.
“The filibuster is paralyzing the Senate. It’s preventing it from doing the very basics, such as debating bills,” said Adam Jentleson, one-time deputy chief of staff to former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and founder of the Battle Born Collective, a progressive interest group.
When asked about support for the filibuster on Tuesday, White House Press secretary Jen Psaki said it was “a discussion that we would have with leaders and members in Congress,” but added that “Republicans still have an opportunity to do the right thing to protect people’s fundamental right to vote.”
