WASHINGTON (thehill): Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on Thursday that Republicans will oppose a compromise election reform proposal put forward by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).
“I would make this observation about the revised version … all Republicans I think will oppose that as well if that were to be what surfaced on the floor,” McConnell told reporters, referring to Manchin’s proposal.
McConnell’s comments, which came during a press conference with GOP senators railing against the For the People Act, are the latest signal that the election bill will fail during a procedural vote next week due to a GOP filibuster.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has teed up the bill for a vote early next week, where it will need 60 votes to advance. Schumer said said the bill could be a vehicle for a deal with Manchin, if it comes together.
Manchin has said that he opposes the For the People Act as it was introduced. The version Democrats are bringing to the floor is slightly revised, giving states and localities more time to implement the provisions. It does keep the original bill largely intact.
Manchin has also said he doesn’t support the revised version and instead has circulated a list to his colleagues detailing what he supports, and doesn’t support, in the bill.
Manchin outlined roughly two dozen ideas that garnered his approval including making election day a public holiday, mandating at least 15 consecutive days for early voting in federal elections, banning gerrymandering and allowing for automatic voter registration through a state’s department of motor vehicles.
Manchin also, according to a version of the list obtained by The Hill, backs tighter campaign finance requirements currently in the For the People Act. This would include requiring online and digital ads to disclose their funding sources in a way similar to TV and radio ads, as well as tighter ethics requirements for presidents and vice presidents and requirements that campaigns and committees report foreign contacts.
“I’ve been working across the aisle with all the Republicans trying to get people to understand that that’s the bedrock of our democracy, and accessible, fair and basically secured voting,” Manchin said Thursday.
