President Biden said Tuesday that the work to pass an election reform bill is “far from over” and accused Senate Republicans of “attacking” the right to vote by blocking a mammoth bill to overhaul federal elections.
“The creed ‘We Shall Overcome’ is a longtime mainstay of the Civil Rights Movement. By coming together, Democrats took the next step forward in this continuous struggle—not just on Capitol Hill, but across the country—and a step forward to honor all those who came before us, people of all races and ages, who sacrificed and died to protect this sacred right,” Biden said in a statement Tuesday evening.
“I’ll have more to say on this next week. But let me be clear. This fight is far from over—far from over. I’ve been engaged in this work my whole career, and we are going to be ramping up our efforts to overcome again—for the people, for our very democracy,” he continued.
Senate Republicans earlier Tuesday afternoon blocked the For the People Act, dealing a blow to Democrat-led efforts to push back on voting restrictions put in place in GOP-controlled states following the 2020 election. Despite Biden’s statement, the path forward for any election reform bill remains unclear.
The Senate voted 50-50 to advance the bill along party lines, failing to meet the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome the filibuster. Vice President Harris, who is leading a White House push to bolster voting rights, presided over the chamber for Tuesday’s vote.
Biden described the Republicans’ vote as an act of “suppression.”
Harris in her own statement said that the Biden administration “remains determined to work with Congress to pass the For The People Act, and we will keep working with Congress to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.”
“The President and I are undeterred, and I know the American people are as well. Like generations before, we will not give up, we will not give in, and we will continue the fight to strengthen the right to vote,” Harris said. “We will fortify and expand the nationwide coalition on voting rights, and promote voter engagement and registration nationwide. We will lift up leaders in the states who are working to stop anti-voter legislation, and work with leaders in Congress to advance federal legislation that will strengthen voting rights.”
The For the People Act, which passed the House earlier this year, would set a guaranteed period of early voting, institute no-excuse voting by mail, add restrictions on congressional redistricting, overhaul campaign finance, lower voter identification requirements and change the Federal Election Commission’s composition, among other measures.
Democrats have warned about threats to ballot access after states like Georgia implemented voting restrictions following the 2020 election, which saw a massive expansion of mail-in voting during the coronavirus pandemic. The new rules have also been implemented after former President Trump falsely claimed he won the 2020 election against Biden and that it was “stolen” from him.
Republicans criticized the legislation as a partisan power grab and an example of federal infringement on states’ authority, leaving little doubt about the outcome of Tuesday’s vote.
Democrats also grappled with their own divisions on the bill. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) announced hours before the vote that he had reached a deal with Senate Majority Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) to vote to advance it, after he previously criticized the legislation.