Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Thursday that he opposes the compromise on Democrats' sweeping voting rights bill proposed by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).
Why it matters: Voting legislation requires 60 votes to pass in the Senate. Without Republican support, it is unlikely to pass. Manchin is the sole Democratic senator who has not signed on to the "For the People Act," insisting that it's too partisan.
The big picture: Manchin's proposed compromise includes banning partisan gerrymandering, requiring voter ID, having at least 15 consecutive days of early voting, and making Election Day a public holiday. Stacey Abrams, a leading Democratic voice on voting rights, said Thursday she would support the plan.
What he's saying: "Senate Democrats seem to have reached a so-called 'compromise' election takeover among themselves. In reality, the plan endorsed by Stacey Abrams is no compromise," McConnell said.
- "It still subverts the First Amendment to supercharge cancel culture and the left's name-and-shame campaign model. It takes redistricting away from state legislatures and hands it over to computers."
- "And it still retains S. 1's rotten core: an assault on the fundamental idea that states, not the federal government, should decide how to run their own elections."