Senator Manchin’s Choice
FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | May 13, 2021
“Only the voting provisions in S. 1, the For the People Act, will override and supersede the numerous voter suppression laws already enacted in states around the country, such as in Georgia, Florida, and Arizona, or soon to be enacted, such as in Texas and other states.”
On Tuesday, the Senate Rules Committee marked up S. 1, the For the People Act.
The Senate Republicans on the Committee continued the GOP’s unanimous opposition to the legislation by voting against efforts by the Democrats to revise the bill and then blocking the bill from being reported out.
However, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has various ways to bring the bill to the Senate floor and has stated he wants the bill passed before the August recess.
Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), the only Democrat not sponsoring the bill, even though he sponsored the same bill in the last Congress, said yesterday, “I’m not supporting [S. 1] the way it is. I think it’s too darn broad and we have no bipartisan support.”
Manchin has instead voiced support for the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which he thinks can gain bipartisan support. He has also indicated that he would not support changing the filibuster rule for either of the bills. There is no evidence anywhere that 10 Republicans would support either bill and provide the votes necessary to break a filibuster under current rules.
Proponents of voting rights legislation, including Democracy 21, strongly support both the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.
But it is important to understand that the John Lewis Voting Rights Act would not override the new voter suppression laws being enacted by Republican-controlled legislatures in states all over the country.
S. 1 would.
The John Lewis Voting Rights Act requires preclearance by the Justice Department for any new changes that certain states want to make to their voting laws. The Act does not apply to existing laws.
So, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act would have no effect on the state voter suppression laws already enacted or on new suppression laws passed before the Act is signed into law. These voter suppression laws are aimed in particular at people of color and likely Democratic voters and are expected to deprive millions of eligible citizens of their ability to vote.
Only the voting provisions in S. 1, the For the People Act, will override and supersede the numerous voter suppression laws already enacted in states around the country, such as in Georgia, Florida, and Arizona, or soon to be enacted, such as in Texas and other states.
The voting rights provisions in S. 1 come from the Voter Empowerment Act, first introduced by Rep. John Lewis in 2012, and reintroduced in the four successive Congresses until his death in 2020.
These provisions in S. 1 carry forward Lewis’s legacy.
If Senator Manchin sticks with his current stated position, he will be collaborating with Republican Senators and Republican state legislators to impose the greatest voter suppression laws on our country since the Jim Crow era.
The For the People Act must become law promptly to ensure that fair voting rules, rather than voter suppression laws, govern the 2022 congressional races and the federal elections that follow. Hopefully, Senator Manchin will join in this effort.
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