华盛顿——参议院共和党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔决心阻止一场势如破竹的选举随着民主党人将该法案推向投票，他将在本周的参议院听证会上提出一系列修正案，亲自反对国会民主党人推动的改革。
对于一个政党领导人来说，这是一个罕见的角色，但它表明了共和党人准备与民主党的优先地位斗争的程度。这项立法将是美国选举一代人以来最大的一次改革，涉及选举过程的几乎每个方面，民主党人认为，随着各州在分裂的2020年选举后实施新的投票限制，这些变化现在更加重要。
通常一个小时的立法工作可能会拖到周二开始的参议院规则委员会(Senate Rules Committee)一整天的摊牌，这是美国关于投票规则的更广泛辩论中一个令人惊讶的新场所。
在前总统的推动下，包括乔治亚州、佛罗里达州、亚利桑那州和德克萨斯州在内的各州正在推动新的投票规则，国会正在采取这一行动唐纳德·特朗普他在2020年竞选失败后对选举舞弊的虚假指控。民主党人正在进行辩护，他们无法阻止新的州法规的冲击，这些法规将需要数月或数年才能在法庭上提起诉讼。共和党人认为，需要新的州规定来取缔邮件投票和其他在疫情期间流行的方法，但批评者警告说，各州正在寻求减少选民准入，特别是黑人选民，为21世纪开创一个新的吉姆·克劳时代。
在2020年的选举中没有广泛的欺诈行为。特朗普的说法遭到了一个又一个州的共和党和民主党选举官员、美国网络安全官员以及美国最高法院的拒绝。他的司法部长当时说，没有证据表明欺诈会改变选举结果。
麦康奈尔的办公室表示，预计他将“积极”参与周二的会议，讨论并修改投票法案。阻止这项法案是他的“优先事项”，因为共和党人认为这项立法代表了民主党对权力的攫取和联邦政府对州选举管理的过度干预。
纽约州参议院多数党领袖查克·舒默(Chuck Schumer)预计也将在规则小组会议上发言，以增加他在辩论中的分量。
周一，舒默询问共和党人是否会真诚行事，或者进一步传播特朗普关于2020年选举的“大谎言”。
“他们会参与改善我们的民主，还是帮助、协助和教唆大谎言和一个巨大的倒退?”他在参议院发表演讲时说。
这项被称为《为人民服务法案》的立法被列为民主党议程上的重中之重，但前进的道路尚不明朗。尽管麦康奈尔以将参议院变成立法墓地而闻名，但民主党核心小组的温和派成员也对该法案成为法律构成了相当大的障碍。
西弗吉尼亚州的参议员乔·曼钦(Joe Manchin)和亚利桑那州的参议员基尔斯顿·西内马(Kyrsten Sinema)都表示，他们反对修改参议院的阻挠议事规则，这是使该法案通过共和党反对派并在参议院以50比50的简单多数通过所需的，副总统卡玛拉•哈里斯在第51次投票中取得了突破性的胜利。
曼钦呼吁任何选举改革都要在两党的基础上进行。
其他民主党人希望将该法案削减至核心投票保护，以试图让共和党人陷入困境。
众议院的H.R. 1号决议及其参议院的配套决议S. 1号已经酝酿了好几年。众议院今年3月通过的这项立法将在全国范围内建立自动选民登记，要求各州提供15天的提前投票，要求政治捐助者更多地披露情况，并限制国会选区的党派不公正划分，以及其他变化。这也将迫使各州提供无借口缺席投票。
特别是，它将迫使向“黑金”政治团体披露捐赠者，这些政治团体吸引了希望影响政治进程、同时保持匿名的富裕利益集团。
麦康奈尔一生都在为竞选资金的自由流动而奋斗，这是一项受宪法保护的言论自由权。
一名不愿透露姓名的共和党助手坦率地讨论了这一情况，他说，他们计划删除法案的全部内容，并引入其他修改。
民主党人一直在对该法案进行自己的修改以获得支持。曼钦还没有签约，他的支持至关重要。
在最新版本的立法中，各州将有更多的时间和灵活性来实施新的联邦法规。一些选举官员抱怨不切实际的时间表、增加的费用和繁重的要求。
各州将有更多时间在投票站启动当天选民登记，并遵守新的投票系统要求。如果他们不能满足自动选民登记的最后期限，他们也可以申请延期。官员们表示，这些是复杂的过程，需要设备更换或升级，需要时间才能到位。
民主党人还取消了一项要求，即地方选举办公室提供带有邮寄选票的自动密封信封，并支付回程邮资。相反，他们计划要求美国邮政局免费携带邮寄选票和选票申请表，由联邦政府买单。
曼钦周一告诉记者，他尚未审查这些变化，但仍愿意支持该法案。
“我们什么都在看。我们希望那里有一条路，”他说。
McConnell poised for starring role in voting bill fight
WASHINGTON -- Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is so determined to stop a sweepingelections overhaul pushed by congressional Democrats that he will personally argue against it, armed with a stack of amendments at a Senate hearing this week as Democrats advance the bill toward a vote.
It’s a rare role for a party leader but shows the extent to which Republicans are prepared to fight the Democratic priority. The legislation would be the largest overhaul of U.S. elections in a generation and touches on almost every aspect of the electoral process, changes that Democrats argue are even more important now as states impose new voting restrictions after the divisive 2020 election.
What’s typically an hourslong legislative slog could drag into a dayslong showdown starting Tuesday at the Senate Rules Committee, a surprising new venue in the nation’s broader debate over voting rules.
The action in Congress comes as states including Georgia, Florida, Arizona and Texas are pushing new voting rules, spurred by former PresidentDonald Trump’s false claims about election fraud after his 2020 loss. Democrats are on defense, having been unable to halt the onslaught of new state rules that will take months or years to litigate in court. Republicans argue the new state rules are needed to clamp down on mail ballots and other methods that became popular during the pandemic, but critics warn the states are seeking to reduce voter access, particularly for Black voters, ushering in a new Jim Crow era for the 21st century.
There was no widespread fraud in the 2020 election. Trump’s claims were rejected by Republican and Democratic election officials in state after state, by U.S. cybersecurity officials and by courts up to the U.S. Supreme Court. And his attorney general at the time said there was no evidence of fraud that could change the election outcome.
McConnell is expected to be an “active” participant in Tuesday’s session to debate and amend the voting bill, his office said. Stopping the bill is his “priority,” as Republicans argue the legislation represents a Democratic power grab and federal overreach into state administration of elections.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is also expected to stop in at the Rules panel meeting to add his weight to the debate.
On Monday, Schumer asked whether Republicans would act in good faith or further the spread of Trump's “big lie” about the 2020 election.
“Will they participate in improving our democracy, or in helping, aiding and abetting the big lie and a giant step backward?” he said during a speech on the Senate floor.
The legislation, known as the For the People Act, was given top billing on the Democratic agenda, but the path ahead is unclear. Despite the showing from McConnell, who has cultivated a reputation for turning the Senate into a legislative graveyard, moderate members of the Democratic caucus also pose a sizable obstacle to the bill becoming law.
Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona have both said they oppose making changes to the Senate’s filibuster rules, which would be needed in order to maneuver the bill past Republican opposition and pass it with a simple majority in a 50-50 Senate, with Vice President Kamala Harris delivering the tiebreaking 51st vote.
Manchin has called for any elections overhaul to be done on a bipartisan basis.
Other Democrats want to pare back the bill to core voting protections to try to put Republicans on the spot.
House resolution H.R. 1, and its companion, S. 1, in the Senate have been in the works for several years. As passed by the House in March, the legislation would create automatic voter registration nationwide, require states to offer 15 days of early voting, require more disclosure from political donors and restrict partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts, among other changes. It would also compel states to offer no-excuse absentee voting.
In particular, it would force the disclosure of donors to “dark money” political groups, which are a magnet for wealthy interests looking to influence the political process while remaining anonymous.
McConnell has spent a career fighting for the free flow of campaign cash as a constitutionally protected right to free speech.
One Republican aide who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the situation candidly said they are planning to try to strike out full sections of the bill and introduce other changes.
Democrats have been making their own changes to the bill to draw support. Manchin has not yet signed on, and his backing will be crucial.
In the latest version of the legislation, states would have more time and flexibility to put new federal rules in place. Some election officials had complained of unrealistic timelines, increased costs and onerous requirements.
States would have more time to launch same-day voter registration at polling places and to comply with new voting system requirements. They would also be able to apply for an extension if they were unable to meet the deadline for automatic voter registration. Officials have said these are complex processes that require equipment changes or upgrades that will take time to get in place.
Democrats are also dropping a requirement that local election offices provide self-sealing envelopes with mail ballots and cover the costs of return postage. Instead, they plan to require the U.S. Postal Service to carry mail ballots and ballot request forms free of charge, with the federal government picking up the tab.
Manchin told reporters Monday that he hadn't yet reviewed the changes but remained open to supporting the bill.
“We are looking at everything. We hope there’s a pathway there," he said.
