WASHINGTON (WV News) — West Virginia’s senatorial representatives have each weighed in on Senate Bill 1, the For the People Act, days before the legislation is expected to come before the Senate for a vote.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., recently showed he is open to a compromise that would allow Democrats to pass the voting reform bill, while Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., has said she plans to vote against the measure.
Last week, Manchin’s office released a memo detailing numerous changes he would like to see made to the bill, signaling a way toward a possible compromise.
Manchin recently drew national attention when he published an op-ed in which he said he would vote against the For the People Act because it lacked bipartisan support.
“I believe that partisan voting legislation will destroy the already weakening binds of our democracy, and for that reason, I will vote against the For the People Act,” Manchin wrote. “Furthermore, I will not vote to weaken or eliminate the filibuster. For as long as I have the privilege of being your U.S. senator, I will fight to represent the people of West Virginia, to seek bipartisan compromise no matter how difficult, and to develop the political bonds that end divisions and help unite the country we love.”
Manchin’s three-page memo contains a list of provisions he would like to see added to S. 1, as well as suggestions for updates to the proposed John Lewis Voting Act.
Proposed comprises for the For the People Act include: Requiring ID (including allowable alternatives such as utility bills) to prove identify to vote, requiring states to send absentee ballots via mail before an election, making Election Day a public holiday and banning partisan gerrymandering and the use of computer models.
“The right to vote is fundamental to our American democracy, and protecting that right should not be about party or politics,” the heading of Manchin’s memo reads. “Congressional action on federal voting rights legislation must be the result of both Democrats and Republicans coming together to find a pathway forward, or we risk further dividing and destroying the republic we swore to protect and defend as elected officials.”
The For the People Act passed the House of Representatives March 3 by a 220-to-210 vote.
According to a description of the For the People Act, written by the bill’s original sponsor, the purpose of the legislation is to “expand Americans’ access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, strengthen ethics rules for public servants and implement other anti-corruption measures for the purpose of fortifying our democracy, and for other purposes.”
However, Capito and other opponents have said the bill is unnecessary, would complicate West Virginia’s election system and could create opportunities for voter fraud that don’t currently exist.
“In my view, what it is is a giant power grab by the Democrats to change the methods and the methodologies how we conduct our elections,” she said. “In 2020, we had way more people in West Virginia vote — and also in this country — under difficult circumstances. We had a pandemic, and yet each state figured out a way, as West Virginia did, to increase the availability of options to voters that are suitable to their state.”
The bill contains several elements she finds “egregious,” Capito said. These include eliminating voter ID laws, eliminating mobile voting options and creating a public financing system for congressional elections.
“It’s all being done under the auspices of states passing laws that are narrowing the focus of being able to vote,” she said. “I will oppose this.”
West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner, along with 54 of the state’s 55 county clerks, have also stated their opposition to the For the People Act.
Warner, the state’s chief elections officer, said the bill is unneeded, would complicate the state’s election system and could increases the risk of voter fraud.
“It’s bad for West Virginia because we don’t have any problems with access — whether it’s registration or access to the polls. We in fact have more ways to vote than any other state in the nation,” he said. “We have early voting, in-person on election day. We have absentee voting ... and we offer electronic voting for voters with disabilities, in our military or who are overseas citizens.”
Harrison County Clerk John Spires, a Democrat, said he agrees with Warner’s assessment of the bill.
“My past experience before I was county clerk ... I worked in elections, so that’s really what I know best,” he said. “Our election laws and the way we do things (in West Virginia), we’re kind of at the forefront and we do a really good job.”
He and the other clerks he has spoken with are opposed to the federal government dictating how states run their elections, Spires said.
“Mainly because we do a good job and not everywhere is the same,” he said. “It’s the reason that election laws vary. Maybe what’s right for Oregon is not right for West Virginia and that type of thing. That’s kind of the main gist of it.”