Democrats' Latest Election Reform Bill Blocked in the Senate

What’s the story?

• The Senate on Wednesday failed to advance yet another election reform bill introduced by Democrats amid opposition from nearly all Republicans, although unlike the prior votes such as those in June and October, they did get the backing of one GOP senator.
• Wednesday’s vote failed 50-49, falling well short of the 60 votes needed to successfully overcome the legislative filibuster. It was procedural in nature and occurred on a motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed, which if successful would’ve allowed debate to continue and amendment votes to occur even though another cloture vote with a 60 vote threshold would’ve been required before a vote on final passage. 
• All Democrats voted in favor of advancing the bill, known as the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) changed his vote from “yea” to “nay” so that he can recall the motion for another vote in the future more quickly than if he were to reintroduce it using regular procedures. It’s unclear if, or when, another vote will occur.
• Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) was the lone Republican to vote in favor. While Murkowski explained that she opposes the bill in its current form as it was brought to the floor, she voted in favor because she supports a substitute amendment she negotiated with Sens. Pat Leahy (D-VT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Joe Manchin (D-WV).

What they’re saying

• Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke on the floor to blast Republicans for blocking Democrats’ latest election reform bill, while also taking aim at the legislative filibuster:

“Democrats have laid out the facts for months: we are witnessing - at the state level - the greatest assault on voting rights since the era of segregation. Before our very eyes, the heirs of Jim Crow are weakening the foundations of our democracy. And by blocking debate today, Senate Republicans are implicitly endorsing these partisan Republican actions to suppress the vote and unravel our democracy…

The filibuster is used far more today than ever before - by some measures ten times as much compared to decades past. Some might wonder if any of the great accomplishments of the past would have a chance of passage today. Would the Social Security Act pass the modern Senate? Or what about the Medicare and Medicaid Acts? Or what about the Civil Rights Act of 1964? We sure hope they would, but it is difficult to see that with the way this chamber works today.”

• Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) spoke on the floor to call Democrats’ bill a partisan power grab and note that some of its provisions are being rejected as standalone ballot measures in deep-blue jurisdictions like Schumer’s home state of New York:

“This has become an almost-weekly routine: My friends on the other side trying to give Washington unprecedented power over how Americans vote. We don’t have an NDAA or an appropriations process, but we always have time for these stunts. In many of these bills, congressional Democrats propose to make themselves into a national Board of Elections. Today there’s a small difference: They want to hand that power to Attorney General Garland. Different branch of government; same bad idea...

Yesterday, the deep blue state of New York had two of Democrats’ signature proposals for weaker elections on the ballot as ballot measures. Citizens got to vote on whether to open the door to two changes that politicians wanted: Same-day registration and no-excuse absentees. And as of the latest tally a few minutes ago, both proposals are losing. They are currently both losing about 60-40. Even in deep blue New York, citizens appear to be rejecting Democrats’ demands for weaker elections.”

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: McConnell: Gage Skidmore via Flickr / Creative Commons | Schumer: Senate Democrats via Flickr / Creative Commons)