Senate Democrats are nearing an agreement on a compromise version of the For the People Act in an effort to secure West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin’s support, HuffPost reports.
The For the People Act, which Republicans filibustered in the Senate, is a sweeping voting rights package that would ban partisan gerrymandering, codify voter protections, crack down on dark money in politics, and other measures. Democrats have called to reform or eliminate the filibuster to pass the bill. Manchin said he opposes filibuster reform and would not vote in favor of the bill itself.
Manchin is now working with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats that have played a key role in shaping the voting rights legislation on a compromise deal.
“The compromise on a new S. 1 is pretty close to being fully baked,” a senior Democratic congressional aide with knowledge of the bill told HuffPost.
What’s in the bill?
The compromise is largely shaped around Manchin’s proposal in June, which includes mandatory early voting, automatic voter registration, restrictions on partisan gerrymandering, a ban on undisclosed dark money, and measures to prevent election subversion.
The bill would also create a national voter ID requirement.
Manchin is already shopping his compromise to Republicans in an attempt to break the filibuster but so far Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski is the only Republican to publicly support any voting rights legislation, making it highly unlikely that Manchin will find 10 Republican votes.
The legislative push comes as Republican state lawmakers around the country have introduced hundreds of voting restrictions in response to former President Donald Trump’s lies about the election.
What’s next?
Schumer is expected to put the compromise bill to a vote when the Senate comes back from recess on September 14.
Democrats hope that if Republicans inevitably block the bill again, Manchin may reconsider his position on the filibuster.
Manchin has repeatedly ruled out changing the filibuster, as has Arizona Democrat Kyrsten Sinema.
The Senate is expected to largely focus on advancing their $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill, which Manchin has called to cut by more than half, until the end of September. If they pass the bill the focus is expected to quickly shift to voting rights.
