Congressional Democrats have tweaked their signature voting rights, campaign finance and ethics bill ahead of a Senate committee vote next week, but likely have not done enough to win the support of many GOP senators.
The House passed the bill, titled the “For the People Act,” in March. It holds the symbolic designation of H.R. 1 and is a centerpiece of House Democrats’ agenda. Key provisions of the bill include expanding automatic voter registration and same-day registration; strengthening voting by mail, early voting and ballot access; combating voter intimidation and suppression; protecting elections from foreign interference; fixing partisan redistricting; and forcing disclosure of “dark money” donations to political groups.
This week, Democratic lawmakers changed some of the requirements and timelines related to the bill’s mandates for early voting, voting by mail and automatic voter registration. Still, numerous provisions in the bill are opposed by Senate Republicans, meaning it will be unlikely to clear a Senate filibuster.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has said defeating the bill is his top priority in this session and has repeatedly accused Democrats of trying to “rewrite the rules of our system.”
Even key Senate Democrats could be on the fence on the bill. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said recently he is reluctant to make changes to elections on a partisan basis.
“We can and we must reform our federal elections together – not as Democrats and Republicans, but as Americans to restore the faith and trust in our democracy,” Manchin said.
This article was provided to OSAE by ASAE's Power of A and Inroads.