Sen. Joe Manchin (D. W. Va) wrote in an op-ed published on Sunday that he will oppose the ‘For People Act,’ the election reform bill passed in the House earlier this year.
In an op-ed published in the Charleston Gazette-Mail Manchin reiterated his opposition to nixing the filibuster and argued that any legislation passed in Congress on federal voting rights must be bipartisan.
“I believe that partisan voting legislation will destroy the already weakening binds of our democracy, and for that reason, I will vote against the For the People Act,” Manchin wrote. “Furthermore, I will not vote to weaken or eliminate the filibuster. For as long as I have the privilege of being your U.S. senator, I will fight to represent the people of West Virginia, to seek bipartisan compromise no matter how difficult and to develop the political bonds that end divisions and help unite the country we love.”
He called for the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which has bipartisan support, to be updated and pass through the Senate in regular order.
In March, the House passed the For the People Act on a 220 to 210 vote with one Democrat joining all Republicans in voting against it.
The bill includes provisions to provide automatic voter registration, expand early voting and restore voting rights for felons who’ve complete their prison sentences. It also bars states from restricting the ability to vote by mail and calls for independent redistricting commissions to draw the electoral map.
Democrats are under pressure to pass the bill since a number of Republican-led states across the country have passed legislation to restrict access to voting.
Without the support of a single Republican or Joe Manchin in the Senate it seems increasingly unlikely that the bill would ever become law since it does not have the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.
Even if Democrats decide to use the nuclear option they will lack the votes needed to pass the legislation, without Manchin’s support.
