President Biden, Democratic leaders and their emissaries are trying to convince Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to pass a sweeping federal elections bill with a menu of filibuster alternatives. The problem is speaking with him is “like negotiating via Etch A Sketch,” sources with direct knowledge of his recent meetings tell Axios.

Why it matters: The president and his top legislative allies see the bill — Manchin’s own Freedom to Vote Act — as key to thwarting Republican-led changes at the state and local levels and preserving their chances in this fall’s midterm elections.

“You think you’re just about there. You think you’ve got an agreement on most of the things and it’s settling in. And then you come back the next morning and you’re starting from scratch,” said the one source who made the Etch A Sketch analogy.