What Are We Supposed to Make of Sen. Joe Manchins Maneuvering?
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said he does not support the For the People Act on Sunday. The bill, known as H.R. 1 and S. 1, calls for sweeping election reform, including restrictions to partisan gerrymandering in congressional districts, greater transparency in campaign financing, and an expansion of early and absentee voting. It is widely viewed as a signature piece of legislation for Democrats. It has the support of President Biden and was passed in the House of Representatives back in March, on a near party-line vote of 220210. It has become increasingly relevant in the last few months as Republican-controlled state legislatures continue to draft and pass unprecedented, restrictive voting laws. In an op-ed for The Charleston Gazette-Mail , Manchin described the For the People Act as "the wrong piece of legislation to bring our country together and unite our country. Returning to familiar talking points about party divisions and compromise, Sen. Manchin said he believes partisan voting legislation weakens Americas democracy and further divides voters. Voting and election reform that is done in a partisan manner will all but ensure partisan divisions continue to deepen.  Instead of forcing the For the People Act through Congress, Manchin advocated for lawmakers to focus on passing the The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act . Also known as H.R. 4, the VRAA is a smaller, more targeted election reform bill that seeks to restore parts of the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act that were effectively eliminated by the Supreme Courts decision in Shelby County v. Holder in 2013. Specifically, H.R. 4 seeks to revitalize the portion of the original Voting Rights Act that required states with a track record of racist voting legislation to get pre-clearance from the federal government before changing their election laws. The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would update the formula states and localities must use to ensure proposed voting laws do not restrict the rights of any particular group or population, wrote Manchin in his op-ed. I continue to engage with my Republican and Democratic colleagues about the value of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and I am encouraged by the desire from both sides to transcend partisan politics and strengthen our democracy by protecting voting rights. Sen. Manchin may feel encouraged, but his faith in H.R. 4s passage seems misguided. He claims there is bi-partisan support for it, but so far only one Republican, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, has signaled support for it. The last time it was introduced in the Senate in 2019, Sen. McConnell refused to bring it to a vote. Clearly there werent many Republican senators clamoring for its passage then, despiteas Sen. Manchin likes to frequently point outthe fact that in 2006, a Republican-controlled Congress voted to extend the original Voting Rights Act. Also, H.R. 4s co-sponsor, Democratic Rep. Terri Sewell of Alabama, has already said that Democrats should be prepared to maybe do away with the filibuster to pass it in the Senate. Despite all evidence to the contrary, Sen. Manchin still seems to think he can get a version of H.R. 4 passed by relying on the sadly outdated formula of compromise. Recently, law professors Guy-Uriel Charles and Lawrence Lessig, wrote in Slate that Sen. Manchin thinks he can get the necessary votes to secure passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act if the requirements for ple-clearance were expanded to every state, not just those who have a history of discriminatory legislation. But Charles and Lessig believe that the Supreme Court would likely invalidate H.R. 4  even more certainly with Joe Manchins amendment. They continue, And because the reasons for that invalidation are so clear in the opinions of those justices, we are not convinced that offers of bipartisan support for H.R. 4 are in good faith.  Given all this, its hard to know what to make of Sen. Manchins maneuvering. I dont know if, in refusing to support the For the People Act and advocating for an unrealistic bi-partisan approach to pass H.R.4 instead, he is being cynical or naivenor do I have an opinion on which would be better. Both seem bad. What I do know is that if Congress fails to enact major election reform ahead of 2022 , Joe Manchins particular style of politics will be partly to blame. Abigail Covington Abigail Covington is a journalist and cultural critic based in Brooklyn, New York but originally from North Carolina, whose work has appeared in Slate, The Nation, Oxford American, and Pitchfork  This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io