U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) has just announced he will not support HR1, the critical voting rights protection and expansion bill already passed by the House of Representatives.
“I believe Democrats and Republicans feel very strongly about protecting the ballot boxes allowing people to protect the right to vote making it accessible making it fair and making it secure,” Manchin told ABC News‘ Rachel Scott.
Republicans in at least 11 states have passed into law voter suppression bills, some of which literally reduce the number of ballot boxes, and access to those boxes, dramatically.
Manchin, who is more conservative than Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski, voiced support for the far less comprehensive John Lewis Voting Rights Act, saying, “if we apply that to all 50 states and territories, it’s something that can be done — it should be done.”
“It could be done bipartisan to start getting confidence back in our system,” he added, ignoring that the ones who destroyed confidence in the voting system are the Republicans.
On Tuesday Republicans on the Senate Rules Committee deadlocked the vote for the For the People Act, legislation that not only would secure voter protections but address rampant Republican gerrymandering as well as regulate dangerous dark money in politics. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer now will need at least one Republican to support the For the People Act if it is to even get to the floor for a vote.
Some political analysts say that given there is legislation in 48 states to suppress the vote, if Democrats don’t pass HR1, they will lose both the House and the Senate next year.