Lessons from the Demise of a Voting Rights Bill

The Daily

• Episode: Lessons from the Demise of a Voting Rights Bill
• Website: The Daily
• Feed URL: http://rss.art19.com/the-daily
• Duration: 00:24:35
• Published: 2021-06-23 11:45

The For the People Act, a bill created by House Democrats after the 2018 midterm elections, could have been the most sweeping expansion of voting rights in a generation.

On Tuesday night, however, Senate Republicans filibustered the bill before it could even be debated.

What lessons can we take from its demise? 

Guest: Nicholas Fandos, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times. 

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Background reading: 

• By blocking the sweeping voting rights bill, Republicans dealt a blow to Democrats’ attempts to counter a wave of state-level ballot restrictions, while also supercharging a campaign to end the legislative filibuster.
• In the wake of the bill’s demise, Democrats and civil rights groups have reaffirmed their resolve to fight for voting protections in Congress.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.