Texas Democrats meet with Senator Manchin, backtrack on voting rights bills
The more than 51 Texas Democrats who fled Austin for Washington D.C. this week in an effort to block passage of reactionary voter suppression laws introduced by state Republicans have received effusive praise, but little practical support, from their fellow Democrats in the US capital.
West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin talks with reporters at the Capitol in Washington, June 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Texas is one of more than two dozen states that have enacted or plan to enact new restrictions on voting this year. The Texas law would ban 24-hour voting and ballot drop boxes, make it more difficult to vote by mail, and empower partisan poll watchers to harass and intimidate both voters and election officials. Since arriving in Washington on Monday, the Texas Democrats have appealed to congressional Democrats and the Biden administration to pass federal legislation protecting voting rights, including the “For the People Act.”