Democratic Senator Joe Machin, the United States Senate’s deciding vote, said on Sunday that he plans to go against an extensive voting rights bill supported by most of his Democrat colleagues that will offer voting accessibility expansion across the nation.
Manchin, in an interview on “Fox News Sunday”, said that the For the People Act “is the wrong piece of legislation to bring our country together and unite our country, and I’m not supporting that because I think it will divide us further”.
He serves as a crucial control in the evenly divided Senate between the liberal and the conservatives. There were instances in the past that Manchin became a hindrance to the current Joe Biden administration through crossing Republican and Democrats border to defy legislation or shut off appointed officials in the White House.
His plan to disagree on the voting rights bill once it lands in the Senate will make things hard for Chuck Schumer, Democratic Majority Leader, who has vowed to progress the bill amid the opposition of the Republicans.
Under the legislation, states are required to further mail-in voting and would also prolong the hours of in-person balloting. Amid the pandemic, the mail-in voting was used last year during the presidential polls.
Manchin’s intention to oppose the For the People Act disappointed Jeff Merkley of Oregon, also a Democrat who sponsored the For the People Act.
“I am open to any conversation about the provisions of this bill, and will not give up on American democracy,” Merkley said.
The mail-in voting is being sought to be cut back in the state legislatures in Texas and Georgia, which Republicans take control of. This, as its political bet ex-president Donald Trump still insists his baseless claims that last year’s election was purloined.
