When Senator Joe Manchin realizes there aren’t 10 Republicans willing to do the right thing, he’s going to have to make a decision about whether he is committed to protecting the voting rights of millions of Americans–particularly Black and brown Americans.
The reality of the situation is simply that there are not 10 Republican Senators who will vote to advance any voting rights legislation to protect all Americans’ freedom to vote. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has given marching orders to his caucus to oppose any voting rights proposals, and last week announced that he would oppose the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to restore and strengthen the Voting Rights Act (VRA), despite voting to reauthorize the VRA in 2006. Senator John Cornyn, who also voted for VRA reauthorization in 2006, announced he would be whipping votes against the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. In fact, a large contingent of the Senate Republican Caucus has either already opposed the bill or has a record of opposing efforts to strengthen or reauthorize the Voting Rights Act.
See below for recent statements from Senate Republicans about the John Lewis Voting Rights Act as well as other actions they’ve taken in opposition to the Voting Rights Act:
Senator Lisa Murkowski: Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the only Republican who has so far endorsed the proposal to restore the VRA, expressed uncertainty last week when asked to describe a path to 60 votes in the evenly split chamber. “I don’t know. I don’t know. It’s a challenging one. I think we just have to be honest with it,” Murkowski said. “You’ve got to find an awful lot of Republicans to join us on this.”
Senator Mitch McConnell: Republican leader Mitch McConnell voiced opposition to the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act on Tuesday, calling it “unnecessary.” “There’s no threat to the voting rights law. It’s against the law to discriminate in voting on the basis of race already, and so I think it’s unnecessary,” McConnell said during a press conference.
Senator John Cornyn: Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the former chief vote counter for the Republican caucus, said he opposes the John Lewis Act and intends to talk to his colleagues “so they understand what the implications are…” Asked whether he believes 10 Republicans could support it, Cornyn said, “I hope not.”
Senator Lindsey Graham: Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) said he believed reimposing federal preclearance of election changes would not be “fair” to the residents of his state, which had been subject to federal oversight of changes to election laws before the 2013 Supreme Court Shelby ruling. “This whole idea, this is just an effort to make everything about race,” he said. “There’s no problem to fix in South Carolina. This is a manufactured problem, making every Republican a racist, and it ain’t working.”
Senator Mike Rounds: Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said election rules should be up to states to decide, a common view among his Republican colleagues. He also voiced skepticism about the proposal on the table. “There are so many problems with that particular piece of legislation that I find it very difficult to support it.”
Senator John Kennedy: “I don’t like the fact that it involves bureaucrats and the Department of Justice telling states what they can and can’t do.”
Senator Richard Shelby: Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said Democrats are going about it wrong when he was asked about the prospects of the John Lewis Act. “They’re reaching for too much too soon.”
Senator Chuck Grassley: “If the bill was passed in the first place to get Black people to vote, and they’re turning out a higher percentage than Whites are, what’s the problem?” said Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa).
Senator Roger Marshall: Voted against the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act in the 116th Congress.
Senator Marsha Blackburn: Filed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to strike down Section 2 of the VRA, which prohibits discriminatory voting practices or procedures.
Senator Mike Braun: Filed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to strike down Section 2 of the VRA.
Senator Tom Cotton: Filed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to strike down Section 2 of the VRA.
Senator James Inhofe: Filed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to strike down Section 2 of the VRA.
Senator James Lankford: Filed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to strike down Section 2 of the VRA.
Senator Mike Lee: Filed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to strike down Section 2 of the VRA.
Senator Rick Scott: Filed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to strike down Section 2 of the VRA.
Senator Thom Tillis: Filed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to strike down Section 2 of the VRA.
Senator Roger Wicker: Applauded Shelby v. Holder decision, which struck down preclearance that the John Lewis Voting Rights Act would restore.
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