Sen. Chris Van Hollen said Tuesday that January will be “make or break” for the Democratic Party’s plan to overhaul America’s voting laws.
The Maryland Democrat said lawmakers are exploring ways to change the Senate’s filibuster rules that require 60 votes to advance most legislation.
“People say the Senate is the world’s greatest deliberative body — that is just not true anymore,” Mr. Van Hollen said on CNN. “We want to go back to the time where the minority party had to take to the floor of the Senate and explain why they are opposed to something.”
Democrats are desperate for another legislative victory after watching fellow Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia derail President Biden’s $1.75 trillion social welfare and climate bill.
With those hopes dashed for the moment, Democrats turned their attention back to a pair of voting bills that have been blocked by Senate Republican filibusters.
The Democrat-controlled House passed legislation along party lines earlier this year that would overhaul election rule across the country and reinstate Justice Department oversight of election law changes in states with a history of civil rights abuses.
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Democrats say the legislation will bolster voting rights and make it easier to vote, and they accuse Republicans of erecting barriers to voting.
Republicans say the Democrats are attempting to nationalize elections and undermine election security laws, such as voter ID requirements, adopted in GOP-run states.
President Biden last week said he backs changing the Senate rules, if necessary, to pave the way for final passage of the legislation.
“If the only thing standing between getting voting rights legislation passed and not getting passed is the filibuster, I support making the exception of voting rights for the filibuster,” Mr. Biden told ABC News.
Mr. Biden has embraced what’s become known as the “talking filibuster,” which would require those who want to derail a bill to have to hold the chamber floor.
The old-style filibuster — featuring a senator talking for hours on end, sometimes to the point of physical exhaustion — was the standard in the Senate for most of the 20th century.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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