Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is planning to put the bill on the floor the the previous week of June. Several Democrats view passing the legislation as a necessary reaction to Republican laws introduced at the state level that limit ballot access. The Democratic bill would establish federally mandated voting rules and require no-excuse mail voting and in-person voting. In addition, it would limit partisan gerrymandering and create a public financing system.
Progressives have long hoped that the election reform bill would be the vehicle for a fight over the future of the legislative filibuster, given that the legislation has no Republican support. But Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) have both repeatedly emphasized that they will not nix the 60-vote threshold now in place for most bills.
In an appearance on “Fox News Sunday” hours after the publication of his op-ed, Manchin defended his opposition to the so-called For the People Act, describing it as “the wrong piece of legislation to bring our country together and unite our country.”
“I’m not supporting that because I think it would divide us further,” he said. “I don’t want to be in a country that’s divided any further than [the one] I’m in right now.”
Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), another co-sponsor of the legislation who caucuses with Senate Democrats, acknowledged Sunday that “there are things that can be modified” in the election reform bill.
“I've said that all along. It’s an 800 or 900 or 1,000-page bill. There are clearly some things I think need to be negotiated. And I think Joe Manchin realizes that,” King told CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), the bill’s lead sponsor, said in a statement on Sunday that although “I wish with all my heart that this bill weren’t necessary … I'm dead set against doing nothing.” He added: “As I've told all my colleagues several times, I'm open to any conversation concerning the provisions of this bill, and will not give up on American democracy.”
In his op-ed, Manchin restated his support for a voting rights bill named after the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) that would restore a requirement that certain jurisdictions receive federal approval before making changes to voting laws. But that bill also has an uphill battle in the Senate. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) was the only Senate Republican to co-sponsor the legislation the previous year.