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The Guardian Tag

In the latest in a long series of legislative disappointments this year for advocates of federal voting rights, Senate Republicans have blocked a vote on another bill to protect access to the ballot. This amended version of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act was the product of a compromise with Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), the only Republican in the chamber to lend the bill her vote. This latest defeat at the hands of Senate Republicans has prompted outraged reactions from various organizations, demanding

 Now that Republican Senators have rejected the possibility of debating the For the People Act in its current form, Democrats are regrouping to advance alternative approaches to reforming voting policy. The compromise bill outlined by Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) is likely to take fuller form while Senate Democrats plan to host hearings on voting rights in states like Georgia, where restrictive laws have recently passed. Georgian Senators Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Raphael Warnock (D-GA) are also working on a bill to protect election officials

Following the enactment of a new law in Georgia, which has been criticized for its potential to restrict access to the ballot box and suppress turnout among minority voters, Texas and Arizona are now emerging as the next states where fights over voting rights will take place. In Texas, legislation has been introduced which would ban drive-thru and 24-hour voting, prohibit election officials from mailing voters absentee ballot applications, and empower partisan poll watchers. In Arizona, legislation has been introduced which would make it