Senate GOP blocks federal election law debate for fourth time this year

Senate Democrats tried and failed once again Wednesday to begin debate on a bill that would radically revamp America’s election laws, as all but two Republicans voted to block the measure from coming to the chamber floor.

Just 50 senators, including Lisa Murkowski (R-Ak.), voted to open debate on the legislation, known as the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The bill needed 60 votes to clear the Senate’s legislative filibuster. Forty-nine senators voted to block debate, with Republican Mike Rounds of South Dakota not recording a vote.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), initially voted “yea,” but changed his vote to “nay” in order to bring the motion forward again at a later date.

Following the vote, Schumer lamented what he called “a low, low point in the history of this body,” saying at one point that “the Senate is better than this.”

Progressive Democrats have pushed for the legislation as a way to counter state laws enacted since the 2020 election that have enhanced voter ID measures and restricted the availability of absentee and mail-in ballots. The initial version of the bill, then known as the For the People Act, passed the Democratic-controlled House soon after it was introduced in March.

However, the measure has stalled in the Senate due to the filibuster. Wednesday’s vote marked the fourth time since June that Republicans have blocked debate on the bill. With the exception of Murkowski, no GOPer has been inclined to even consider what they see as an unconstitutional power grab by Democrats at the federal level.