Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) said Tuesday that he will propose implementing a talking filibuster to introduce voting legislation, although Senator Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) said he does not support the rule change.
Schumer’s proposal would allow a simple majority of senators to vote in favor of introducing legislation, instead of the 60 votes generally required to overcome a filibuster. The new rules would permit a talking filibuster, in which Republican senators could block the two bills’ introduction by speaking continuously on the Senate floor.
“If the Republicans block cloture on the legislation before us, I will put forward a proposal to change the rules to allow for a talking filibuster on this legislation,” Schumer told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday. Once Republican senators stop speaking on the floor, “the debate will have run its course and the Senate will move to vote on final passage at a majority threshold.”
A rules change would require the support of all 50 Senate Democrats, and Manchin told reporters on Tuesday that he does not support the change. Schumer made clear that he would push ahead with the attempt.
“The vast majority of our caucus strongly disagree with Senators Manchin and [Kyrsten] Sinema [D., Ariz.] on rules changes,” Schumer said. “The overwhelming majority of our caucus knows that if you’re going to try to rely on Republican votes, you will get zero progress on voting rights.”
Democrats will attempt to introduce the two voting bills on Wednesday night, and will likely be filibustered by Republicans.
One bill, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, would restore portions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that required districts with a history of discrimination to obtain approval from the Justice Department before changing election procedures.
The other bill, the Freedom to Vote Act, has garnered opposition from Republicans who see it as a federalization of election procedures. The bill would establish national voter-ID standards, allowing for a range of documentation, declare election day a federal holiday, and set a minimum 15-day early voting period.