Senate Democrats are considering presenting their election reform bill for a vote prior to the scheduled August recess.
According to Politico, a congressional source said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has told his members in private meetings they should expect more votes on legislation related to voting reform before the end of the work period. The push, some say, is an attempt to leverage the Senate’s scheduled August recess to force a favorable vote.
Congressional leaders are already grapling with a $550 billion bipartisan infrastructure plan and readying a budget to set up a companion $3.5 trillion domestic spending plan. Additional legislation would put pressure on senators' planned recess later his month.
Newsmax has reported that Democrats, led by Schumer and fellow Democrat Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and Raphael Warnock of Georgia, have drafted a new version of a voting rights bill that they hope can garner enough votes to avoid a filibuster.
Manchin said that despite his status as one of the party’s most moderate members and typically a key vote on hard-to-pass legislation, he has not faced pressure from his party to change his mind about the filibuster’s 60-vote threshold.
In June, the Senate failed to advance the elections and ethics bill. All 50 Senate Democrats voted in favor of the legislations, while all 50 Senate Republications opposed. Republicans charged the bill was an attempt to have the federal government take over the election system.
Manchin, along with Arizona Democrat Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, has steadfastly resisted efforts and lobbying by members of their own party to change the Senate’s filibuster rules. "Everyone understands," Manchin told CNN. "They've been very, very, very, very respectful of that. They know where I am, and I told them ... we'd lose democracy if we lose the filibuster."
Schumer has said that ''failure is not an option" when it comes to election and ethics reform. However, with the filibuster remaining intact, the legislation has little chance of becoming law, according to Politico.
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