The Senate will debate voting rights legislation, and every senator will have a choice of whether or not to pass the legislation to protect our democracy, Schumer wrote in a memo to Senate Democrats.
Schumer sent the missive as Senate Democrats were working to pass legislation cracking down on gerrymandering, making campaign finance reforms and creating national standards for early voting. President Joe Biden will attend a special caucus meeting with Senate Democrats on Thursday as the party wrestles with how to pass elections reform. The senators are trying to get Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema to back off their opposition to changing the 60-vote requirement.
Schumer has yet to say what his final proposal to the caucus will be, even as he vows to hold a vote on potential rules changes by Monday. The voting and elections debate can at least come to the Senate floor unimpeded by a GOP filibuster because of Schumer's tactics. Unless Democrats change the Senate rules, it will take just a simple majority to bring the bill to the floor.
Schumer wrote that they would need 10 Republicans to join them or they would need to change the Senate rules. How can we allow the Republican Party to debate and pass voter suppression laws at the state level with only a simple majority vote, but not allow the United States Senate to do the same?
Senate Democrats are considering changes that would allow the elections and voting legislation to pass by a simple majority and allow the Senate to begin debate on a bill by a simple majority vote. They need all 50 Democrats on board to weaken the filibuster.
The proposal will be voted on by Democrats days before.
Sen. Ben Cardin said he didn't know what the leader was thinking. He hasn't shared that with us. A lot of us have had feedback. I let him know my views.
Democrats don't have the numbers to make rules changes along party lines. When asked when Democrats need to come to a consensus, Sen. Jon Tester said yesterday would be great.
At some point in time, Schumer's got to bring this to a head. He thinks that is the reason he is having the vote.
The elections and voting reform bills will be voted on in the House on Thursday and sent to the Senate.
"Our democracy is at stake," Pelosi wrote.
A senator who is familiar with the discussions says Democrats are between voting on a talking filibuster or carve-out for elections reform. They might end up voting on both.
Some Democrats prefer a talking filibuster and want to preserve their sway for the minority. The Senate would have to hold the floor to stop a vote at a majority threshold if that were to happen. The carve-out would allow for a quicker majority vote, but it would limit minority rights.
The senator said that the conversation shifted as they wrestled.
The White House said that Biden would be working the phones to try and sway the opposition from Sinema and Manchin. At the Senate Democrats' caucus meeting on Thursday, Biden will reiterate that protecting the right to vote requires changing the Senate rules.
Schumer has warned senators that they may have to stay in D.C. for the weekend, and some are expecting the vote to take place on Monday, despite a previously scheduled recess.
The current negotiations are in a state of change, but that Martin Heinrich supports a talking filibuster.
The minority party doesn't get a veto in most democracies, so they can slow things down. He said that eventually they will get a vote. You have a path for a majority to vote for policies.
Senate Democrats want to pass two elections and voting reform bills. Federally mandated voting rules would include early voting, expanded access to mail ballots, and banning partisan gerrymandering. The second is named after the late Rep. John Lewis and would restore a requirement that certain jurisdictions get approval from the Justice Department before making changes to voting laws.
While they both support the elections reform bills, Manchin and Sinema have insisted for more than a year that they will not toss the Senate's current 60-vote threshold. Changing Senate rules along party lines is an option that Manchin has opposed in the past. Other Senate Democrats aren't committing to changing the rules.
Manchin said he had no new answers. Good meetings and good discussions. He said that Biden gave a good speech in Georgia Tuesday when the president made the case for changing Senate rules.
Some progressives think that Sen. Mark Kelly will support rules reform in the wake of his recent comments. He said he hasn't committed to anything.
I don't pay attention to what progressive groups are saying. He said that he was focused on doing the job for Arizona and that the rules of the Senate were not very efficient.
A small group of Democratic caucus members, including Jon Tester of Montana, Tim Kaine of Virginia, and Angus King of Maine, have been meeting with Manchin to discuss rules change options. Sinema met with a group of senators.
Chris Murphy said that you have to be flexible when trying to get the support of a small group of people.
Several Senate Democrats said it's time to bring the debate to the floor even though they still don't have the votes to change the rules.
Sen. Raphael Warnock said that it doesn't end until voting rights are secured. It is time to vote. To represent the people, senators are hired to fight for them. Everybody must be held accountable.
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