Manchin and Sinema Vote With Republicans Against Changing Senate Rules for Elections Overhaul

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Sen. Kirsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) joined Republican senators on Jan. 19 to vote down an attempt by the Democrats to change the rules of the U.S. Senate in order to pass a major elections overhaul bill that was a top priority for President Joe Biden. Manchin and Sinema have long said they would oppose the so-called “nuclear option” to change the Senate rules so that legislation can be passed with a simple minority. The 52–48 vote likely marks to end of the push to pass the voting bill, which would have nationalized key aspects of how elections are conducted in the United States, including a provision that would have made voting by mail a permanent option in every state. Biden traveled to Georgia earlier this month to drum up support for the legislation, though a path was never clear without a change to the Senate rules, …