At a time when Republican leadership has come to tolerate, or even embrace, Donald Trump’s “big lie,” 19 states have acted to subvert previously established voting rights by passing 34 new laws that restrict voting access.
In response to these machinations and to several egregious Supreme Court decisions, Senate Democrats opened debate on a new voting rights bill that comprehensively combats voter suppression and disenfranchisement. It protects absentee and early voting — vital during a pandemic — prevents purging voters from electoral rolls and makes Election Day a public holiday, ensuring greater access to the polls.
But the bill didn’t pass because Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona were not willing to support filibuster reform, which is necessary in an equally divided, polarized Senate.
Despite the media’s focus on Manchin and Sinema, there are not just 50 senators and not just two “moderates.” We should also be talking about Republicans who have built a reputation based upon reasonableness and moderation and whose refusal to back voting reforms defies their reputations.
There used to be a large pack of moderate senators, but in an era of political polarization, now there are strikingly few. In addition to Democrats Manchin and Sinema, there are Republicans Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Mitt Romney of Utah.
Capito is different from the other three Republicans: She is moderate in terms of her votes aggregated across all issues, a position primarily driven by her concern over economic issues in a low-income state. But Capito has no record or reputation for concern for voting rights protections. There is no reason to expect her to face any kind of backlash for blocking voting rights.
In contrast, if Collins, Murkowski and Romney were actually forced to take positions on the content of the legislation — rather than dodging the substance of the bill based on abstract concerns of “unity” and “bipartisanship” — they would have to support proposed legislation or go on record as articulating why the specific provisions within that legislation are objectionable.
They would have to justify why they do not want to prevent states from making it more difficult to register to vote, reduce polling places in minority districts, cut back on polling hours and designedly making voting lines longer.
Collins, Murkowski and Romney are moderate not only in their aggregate voting but also in their purported commitment to basic voting protections and democratic norms. In the 2006 vote to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act, Collins and Murkowski both voted yes. Murkowski also supplied the lone Republican vote to advance the John Lewis Voting Rights Act on Nov. 3, 2021. All three also voted to impeach Donald Trump following the Jan. 6 riot.
These Republicans have cultivated a reputation of reasonableness and moderation, but when it comes to protecting the core pillars of democracy, they dodge the issue — enabled by a focus on partisan polarization that allows the media, as well as the public, to simply assume all Republican votes are off the table. This lets moderate Republicans off the hook with their reputations intact.
Even if these Republicans do not waver under continued media scrutiny, they may pay real political costs for their continued intransigence.
Collins won reelection in 2020 by 8.6% but remains vulnerable in a state that leans Democrat. Pressure on Collins could be more likely to shift her vote than that of Manchin, who represents a state that Trump won by 40 percentage points.
Romney faces no such political pressure in a Republican-leaning state. But as seen in his vote to impeach President Trump, he clearly cares about his reputation for principle and his legacy as a reasonable moderate.
Murkowski’s recent votes in support of voter protection make her the most likely Republican to shift — if there is enough pressure.
The shortsighted focus on the two moderate Democrats to the exclusion of the purportedly moderate Republicans is not just a problem in voting rights legislation. These three moderate Republican senators should be pushed to take stances on all core issues facing the nation, particularly in a time of crisis.
Voting rights may be the defining issue of our generation. More than half of Americans believe U.S. democracy is in danger of collapse. It must be made clear to these Republicans that where they stand on basic voting rights in the coming days will shape their reputations and their legacies.
