MLK's Family Push Manchin, Sinema on Voting Bill, Filibuster

The family of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. took part of the day set aside to commemorate the civil rights leader's birth to call out two Democrats in the U.S. Senate who have hindered the party's efforts on voting efforts.

"Sen. Sinema, Sen. Manchin, our future hinges on your decision, and history will remember what choice you make,"said Yolanda Renee King, the 13-year-old granddaughter of King at a news conference in Washington, D.C., Newsweek reported.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and Sen. Joe Manchin, D.-W.Va., have stopped efforts by President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party to pass legislation they say expands voting rights to minorities.

The bill before the Senate would expand access to mail-in voting, strengthen federal oversight of elections in states with a history of racial discrimination and tighten campaign finance rules. Democratic supporters argue it is needed to counter a wave of new restrictions on voting passed in Republican-led states that election observers say would make it harder for minority and low-income voters to cast ballots.

Republicans, who hold half of the 100 seats in the Senate, are united in opposition to the bill, which they brand a partisan power grab. They say the state changes prevent voter fraud by requiring photo IDs, preventing others from using what is sometimes referred to as "ballot harvesting" to collect multiple write-in ballots and deliver them, among other things.

Sinema said in a recent Senate floor speech she does oppose voting rights, but she and Manchin are opposed to eliminating the long-standing filibuster rule, which requires 60 senators to agree on most legislation. Currently, the Senate is divided 50-50, and without the two, a needed tie cannot be obtained to allow Vice President Kamala Harris to cast the deciding vote.

Yolanda Renee King, daughter of Martin Luther King III, said Monday, "They think the real problem isn't that our rights are being stolen — they think the real problem is a disease of division that can be cured with some optimism and conversation."

"My father worked to bring people together," he added, "But he knew that when someone is denying you your fundamental rights, conversation and optimism won't get you very far."

Reuters contributed to this report.

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