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Moderate Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema voted to advance the bill and Manchin helped draft its language, along with fellow Democrat Amy Klobuchar. Those could include the exemption just for voting rights bills, limiting the number of filibusters against any one bill, or forcing those waging a filibuster to remain standing and speaking on the Senate floor until one side relents. There are several reform ideas percolating that could stop short of a ban on legislative filibusters. On Tuesday, Senator Angus King, an independent who aligns with Democrats, told reporters that if Republicans again blocked the bill, 'we would either have to figure out a rule change or we have to try to have discussions toward a compromise solution.'ĭemocratic President Joe Biden, a former senator, has voiced objections to altering or abandoning the filibuster, although he suggested he was open to considering it during the recent showdown over hiking the debt ceiling. It also aims to expand voter turnout by making Election Day a federal holiday and would outlaw partisan drawing of congressional districts, known as 'gerrymandering,' that both parties have engaged in for decades. The bill would set broad federal standards for how states conduct elections, including ensuring all qualified voters can request mail-in ballots. Some senators have been urging a carve-out to exempt the voting rights bill from the filibuster, which requires 60 of 100 senators to agree on most legislation.Īll 50 Senate Republicans voted to block the measure, with party leaders saying it was an attempt to wrest control of voting rules from the states. It's about protecting the very soul of this nation.' He complained that Wednesday's vote was 'not how the Senate is supposed to work,' adding: 'Voting rights is not like other issues we deal with in this chamber. While he did not lay out specific steps to possibly alter the Senate's ' filibuster' rule that gives the minority party the power to block legislation, he hinted at doing so. 'The fight to protect our democracy is far from over,' he said.

VOTING BLOCS FOR FREE

Voting blocs