Democrats postpone voting rights vote until next week amid filibuster threat

• Democrats in the Senate will postpone voting on two voting rights bills and aim to pass them later in the week.
• If Republicans continue to block Democrats, they may consider altering the filibuster to pass legislation with a simple majority.
• The Jan. 6 Capitol attack and the enactment of restrictive state voting laws have prompted Democrats to label the legislation as crucial.
• The bills, according to Republicans, would result in the federal government having excessive control over state elections.

Chuck Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader, postponed votes on two voting rights bills, thereby delaying a discussion on the rules that will determine the outcome of election reforms crucial to safeguarding U.S. democracy.

The New York Democrat stated on Thursday that the chamber would not consider the legislation until Tuesday due to the impending Covid-19 storm and the positive test result of Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii. This means that Democrats will not have a simple majority until Schatz can return to the Senate, which is evenly split.

For the first time this Congress, the United States Senate will debate voting rights legislation starting on Tuesday, as Schumer stated on Thursday night. Members of this chamber were elected to discuss and vote on crucial issues, including this one, which is vital to the functioning of our democracy. We will proceed.

Democrats plan to push through two voting rights bills, the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, despite Republican opposition. If the bills fail, Democrats may consider using a simple majority to bypass the filibuster and pass the proposals.

Despite the support of all Senate Democrats for the elections legislation, at least two senators, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, have stated that they will not support the necessary changes to the filibuster in order to pass it. Currently, Democrats require the support of at least 10 Republicans to pass most legislation.

"Even if we remove the 60-vote threshold with a slim majority to pass bills I support, it won't guarantee that demagogues won't get elected," Sinema stated on Thursday, reiterating her stance.

If the two centrist senators maintain their stance on rule modifications, it seems unlikely that Democrats can pass a set of reforms they deem essential for safeguarding ballot access. The proposed legislation would increase early and mail-in voting, establish automatic voter registration as a nationwide standard, declare Election Day a federal holiday, and reinstate parts of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that were weakened by the Supreme Court.

If Democrats are unable to abolish the filibuster, some Republicans may be willing to modify the Electoral Count Act of 1887 to make it more difficult for local officials to manipulate election outcomes.

Last year, some GOP officials supported former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn swing-state presidential election results, which were based on unfounded conspiracy theories that widespread fraud caused his loss to President Joe Biden.

If their preferred bills for vote counting reforms fail, Democrats may have to resort to making it harder to overturn election results as their only option left. However, many Democrats have argued that these reforms are inadequate without first increasing access to the ballot for more people.

In the past year, Democrats have attempted to pass election bills but have been unsuccessful due to Trump's false claims about the 2020 election, which led to the January 6th Capitol attack and the enactment of restrictive voting laws in states like Texas and Georgia. Now, a year after the Capitol attack, President Biden has given speeches warning of the threat to democracy and is urging the Senate to alter its rules to safeguard elections.

On Thursday evening, Biden held a meeting with Manchin and Sinema for over an hour. During this time, they engaged in a sincere and open discussion about voting rights, according to a White House official.

Earlier in the day, the president met with Senate Democrats and expressed his pessimism about the party's prospects of passing voting rights legislation.

"I'm not sure if we can accomplish this task," Biden admitted.

Despite the Senate's indication that the bills would not pass, Democrats aimed to demonstrate their commitment to passing reforms to their constituents following Trump's attempt to overturn the election and the enactment of laws that could disproportionately harm voters of color.

The Democratic bills are opposed by Republicans, who argue that they grant the federal government excessive control over state elections.

The Voting Rights Act, which Democrats aim to restore, is a legislation passed by Congress to safeguard voting rights.

The GOP considers the filibuster to be a significant alteration to the Senate's operation, which may hinder lawmakers from achieving agreement.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell stated on Thursday that there is a way for Democrats to address the country's needs, rather than attempting to disrupt the Senate and change election laws.

Biden vowed to continue fighting for voting rights, despite the predicted failure of the legislation.

As with every significant civil rights legislation, if we fail the first attempt, we have the opportunity to try again," he stated. "Unfortunately, we missed this opportunity.