Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va) said any voting rights legislation that pass through the Senate must be on a bipartisan basis as Democrats call for nixing the filibuster to allow the legislation to pass without Republican support.
“As the Senate prepares to take up the For the People Act, we must work toward a bipartisan solution that protects everyone’s right to vote, secures our elections from foreign interference, and increases transparency in our campaign finance laws,” Manchin said in a statement, according to the Hill. “Pushing through legislation of this magnitude on a partisan basis may garner short-term benefits, but will inevitably only exacerbate the distrust that millions of Americans harbor against the U.S. government. We can and we must reform our federal elections together – not as Democrats and Republicans,” he added.
Manchin said there are provisions in the bill that has bipartisan support. He said Congress should work on passing those proposals in the bill instead of making this a purely partisan exercise.
“There are bipartisan proposals embedded in this bill that can strike the right balance and make great strides on each of these issues. Instead of arguing about the election reforms on which we disagree, Congress should be working together to enact those on which we can agree,” he said.
Manchin’s statement comes as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed that the bill will pass in the Senate. But, without any Republican support, Democrats will have to consider nixing the filibuster to do so.
To change the rule requiring a 60 vote majority for legislation to pass in the Senate, Democrats be will need all 50 senators on board, including Manchin.
