Senate G.O.P. Blocks Voting Rights Bill for Third Time This Year

U.S.|Senate Republicans Block Voting Rights Bill, Leaving Its Fate successful Doubt

WASHINGTON — Republicans connected Wednesday blocked enactment for the 3rd clip this twelvemonth connected authorities to bolster voting rights, leaving Democrats fewer options to beforehand the measure extracurricular of changing the Senate filibuster regularisation and passing it implicit G.O.P. opposition.

All 50 Democrats and independents supported bringing the Freedom to Vote Act to the floor, but each 50 Republicans voted against doing so, maintaining a stalemate implicit a connection that Democrats accidental is needed to antagonistic efforts successful Republican-controlled states to enforce caller restrictions connected voting successful the aftermath of the 2020 elections.

“These laws volition marque it harder for millions of Americans to enactment successful their government,” said Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the bulk leader. “If determination is thing worthy of the Senate’s attention, if there’s immoderate contented that merits statement connected this floor, it is protecting our ideology from the forces that are trying to unravel it from the wrong out.”

The necktie near Democrats astatine slightest 10 votes abbreviated of the 60 needed to flooded a filibuster, and determination was small grounds that immoderate Republicans could beryllium brought connected board. (Mr. Schumer switched his ballot to “no” astatine the past moment, enabling him nether Senate rules to determination to reconsider the measure astatine immoderate constituent successful the aboriginal and putting the authoritative tally astatine 49 to 51.)

Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the number leader, assailed the connection enactment guardant by Democrats connected Wednesday, which was a compromise mentation of a broader voting rights measurement that Republicans had blocked doubly before.

“The aforesaid rotten halfway is each inactive there,” Mr. McConnell said of the caller legislation. “As agelong arsenic Senate Democrats stay fixated connected their extremist agenda, this assemblage volition proceed to bash the occupation the framers assigned it and halt unspeakable ideas successful their tracks.”

The measure would acceptable national standards for aboriginal and mail-in voting and marque Election Day a nationalist holiday, among different provisions. It would besides mandate that voters supply immoderate signifier of recognition earlier casting a ballot, a request that galore Democrats had antecedently resisted, though it would beryllium acold little restrictive than akin measures that Republicans person imposed.

The compromise was struck to triumph the enactment of Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, the sole Democrat to reason a much expansive voting rights measure passed by the House successful August. Mr. Manchin has spent weeks trying to triumph Republican enactment for the pared-back mentation but was unsuccessful, giving Democrats anticipation that helium mightiness go much amenable to weakening the filibuster to beforehand a measurement helium helped write.

In airy of the vote, cardinal Democrats said they would regroup and effort again to transportation Mr. Manchin and different Senate Democrats reluctant to undermine the filibuster that an overhaul of the chamber’s signature procedural maneuver was the lone mode to support ballot entree astir the country.