U.S. Democrats suffer defeat in election reform as bid to change Senate rules fails

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Legislation that U.S. Democrats said would protect the right to vote collapsed Wednesday in the Senate after the Democratic-led effort to change the chamber's filibuster rule failed.

After a long day of debate, Senate Democrat efforts to remove the 60-vote hurdle so that the voting rights legislation can clear the chamber without a single Republican vote still didn't win the support from two members of their own party, resulting in a 52-48 vote that sank the rules change.

That Democratic senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona joined all GOP senators in opposing making any change to the filibuster was hardly surprising, but the outcome still dealt a blow to efforts by the Democratic caucus and the White House to seek sweeping electoral reform.

"Allowing one party to exert complete control in the Senate with only a simple majority will only pour fuel on the fire of political whiplash and dysfunction that is tearing this nation apart," Manchin said on the Senate floor before the vote.

In a statement explaining her vote, Sinema said she stood by her opposition to "actions that would deepen our divisions and risk repeated radical reversals in federal policy, cementing uncertainty and further eroding confidence in our government."

U.S. President Joe Biden, who endorsed changing the filibuster rule for the sake of passing the voting rights legislation, said in a statement that he was "profoundly disappointed" by the result but was "not deterred."

Biden said his administration "will continue to work with allies to advance necessary legislation to protect the right to vote. And to push for Senate procedural changes that will protect the fundamental right to vote."

Hours earlier, Biden said during a press conference marking his first year in office that he was hopeful that certain achievements could be made on the "electoral reform side," warning that not being able to do so would lead to future election legitimacy more prone to damage.

The filibuster is a rule in the U.S. Senate that requires 60 votes for virtually every piece of legislation to advance.