House minority whip James Clay said on Sunday that he is “absolutely” willing to support the senator Joe ManchinThe proposed compromise proposal included voter ID requirements into the Democratic Party-led election reform measures.
The South Carolina Democratic Party has previously stated that the voter ID election requirement is a form of voter suppression, he told CNN‘s Dana Bash on Union State He “always for voter status”, which is “fair”.
“We never support a disproportionate voter ID. When you tell me you must have a photo ID and a photo of the student activity card, it’s not good, but it’s good for hunting permits,” he said . “I don’t know of a person who opposes the use of ID when voting. But we don’t want you to tell me that my ID is bad, because I don’t have a gun, nor do I.” Go hunting. “
His remarks came as Democratic leaders’ opposition to this measure has softened, and activists have long believed that the measure is a way to restrict minority voting.
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Last month, former House of Representatives member Stacey Abrams expressed support for Manchin’s compromise agreement and the former president Barack Obama It said there was nothing “particularly controversial” in the proposal.
In recent years, cancel or modify Senate The obstruction bill is in Democratic Party Because some people in the party believe that too many important issues have been stifled by the demands of an absolute majority.Senate Republicans Last month, they vetoed their election bill in a key test vote, which dealt a blow to their colleagues in the aisle, which further highlighted the limitations of the Democratic Party’s weak majority.
Manchin and other moderate Democrats opposed the amendment to the obstruction bill and pushed for a bipartisan approach to reform voting rights, but Cliburn strongly opposed their efforts and told Bash on Sunday: “We need to get rid of the obstruction of the constitutional issue. The bill, just like us, has solved the budget problem.”
“We should not obstruct things like equal voting rights,” he said. “Senator Manchin, I like him very much. We have discussed this issue. I want to say it again. Senator, I am not opposed to obstructing the proceedings, but you should not obstruct anyone – obstruct anyone’s constitutional rights.”
Before Republican-led state legislatures began to adopt the requirement in the past two decades, voter status requirements laws were relatively rare in the United States. In 2020, 36 states have enacted voter status laws, almost three times the number of states in 2000.
In addition, Republicans have taken action to expand the voter ID requirements for mail-in voting in some restrictive state election bills passed by the president. Joe Biden Defeat the former president Donald Trump Last November.
Weekly newspaper Contact Manchin’s office for comments. This story will be updated with any response.
