Black Democrats urge party to shift voting rights push from H.R. 1

The massive election reform measure known as H.R. 1 passed the House last month, but it has yet to win unified support from the 50-member Senate Democratic caucus amid a fierce GOP pushback effort that casts it as an aggressive consolidation of political power. With that Senate logjam in mind, a group of Black Democrats is pressing to elevate a more targeted voting rights bill — named for and championed by the late Rep. John Lewis — that they believe could be a more successful sell on Capitol Hill. The reality for Democrats is that the Lewis legislation won’t be much easier to pass than H.R. 1, which includes sweeping election administration mandates. Many in the party believe that no matter which bill the party prioritizes, success will require abolishing the filibuster that now requires 10 GOP votes to get most measures through the Senate. Still, multiple Democrats acknowledged this week that the voting rights-only bill named for Lewis stands a better chance to make it to President Joe Biden’s desk. That bill has more Democratic support and an outside chance to win over a few Republicans, based on past votes to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act.