U.S. Senate Republicans on Wednesday once again blocked debate on a sweeping voting rights bill championed by Vermont’s Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy.
It’s the second time in recent weeks that Democrats failed to overcome a 60-vote hurdle to consider voting rights legislation. With only 50 members in their caucus, Democrats needed at least 10 Republicans to vote in favor of debating the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
Just one did: Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. The final vote was 50-49.
In a floor speech Wednesday morning, Leahy urged his colleagues to advance the bill, of which he is the primary sponsor. Hours before the vote, he said debating the bill would be “an opportunity to live up to (the Senate’s) best traditions and put our democracy over party.”
“(N)o legislation could be more foundational to our democracy than that which protects the right to vote,” he said. “Today, I hope that we as a Senate will honor the rich bipartisan history around the Voting Rights Act — in the name of our hero John Lewis, in the name of our democracy, and in the name of a foundational value that is the bedrock of our country.”
The bill, named for Georgia’s late congressman and civil rights hero, would primarily replace a section of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013.
Democrats say time is of the essence to pass nationwide voting rights protections because numerous Republican-dominated state legislatures have been passing new voting restrictions and requirements ahead of 2022’s midterm elections. But congressional Republicans say the bill would be a gross overstep by the federal government, and elections are meant to be run by individual state governments, not the feds.
Leahy said Wednesday morning that he is willing to hear suggested amendments to the bill from his colleagues across the aisle, “but we should at least have that debate.”
“That is why we are here, to debate and vote on bills,” he said. “There is simply no reason for any senator to look at their constituents and say that this topic — that of protecting the right to vote — is just too political, too controversial.”
Denouncing “the toxic partisanship of American politics today,” Leahy implored his colleagues to “rise above partisanship and do what is right for our democracy.”
“That is the belief that protecting our right to vote — the very right that gives democracy its name — is bigger than party or politics,” Leahy said. “It is the belief that a system of self-government — a government of, by, and for the people — is one that is worth preserving for generations to come. It is the belief that government exists to serve the will of the people — not the other way around.”
