Senate to Vote on ‘For the People Act’ Today

This evening, the Senate is expected to vote on whether to begin debate on a sweeping voting rights bill. The vote on whether to advance the ‘For the People Act’ is it’s first test in the Senate. The legislation was passed in the House in March. Following the 2020 election, Republicans have pushed restrictive voting laws at state levels and Democrats are viewing the legislation as the primary way they can combat those state level laws. As of May, state legislators in 48 states have introduced more than 380 bills with restrictive voting provisions.

The bill is unlikely to pass today but Democrats see it as a chance to highlight their unity and create a clear contrast with Republican lawmakers against the bill. Failure to move the bill forward would be a major blow to Democrats and will likely trigger calls from progressives to eliminate the legislative filibuster which requires most bills to get votes from at least 10 Republicans. Joe Manchin and other Democrats have already stated they’re against eliminating the filibuster.