Senate Republicans Block Voting Rights Legislation
Democrats' Last-Ditch Push Fails
House-Approved Bill Faces Uphill Battle in Senate
Senate Republicans on Wednesday night voted down a wide-ranging voting rights legislation, dealing a major blow to Democrats' efforts to restore and strengthen voting rights protections. The bill, known as the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2023 (HR 14), was named after the late civil rights activist John Lewis and would have restored and strengthened parts of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was weakened by the Supreme Court in 2013.
The bill would have required states with a history of voter discrimination to obtain federal approval before making changes to their voting laws, and would have expanded early voting and mail-in voting options. It would also have made it easier for people to register to vote and would have prohibited partisan gerrymandering.
The bill had already been approved by the House of Representatives, but it faced an uphill battle in the Senate, where Republicans have consistently opposed efforts to expand voting rights. The vote on Wednesday night was 49-51, with all 50 Republicans voting against the bill and one Democrat, Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, joining them.
Democrats had hoped to use the bill to commemorate the upcoming 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. But with the bill's failure, it is unclear what the next steps will be in the fight for voting rights.
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