BREAKING: Senator Schumer just used a rare Senate procedure to force debate on the Freedom to Vote Act.

John – In an unusual turn of events, the newly-named Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act will soon be debated on the Senate floor.

After senate obstructionists blocked pro-democracy bills for more than a year, Senator Schumer has taken unusual steps to push the bill forward to debate. Whether this means Senator Schumer has the votes is yet to be seen, as Senators Manchin and Sinema have not yet publicly changed their position on changing the filibuster to get this done.

Here’s what happened:

• Last night, Democrats in the House took a bill that had already been passed through the House and Senate, removed the original text, and replaced it with the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
• This move created the new Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act.
• This morning, the House passed the new bill today by a vote of 220-203.

Because the original bill had already been passed between both chambers three times, an arcane Senate rule prohibits filibustering (or blocking) debate.

Yes, this is a very strange and complicated maneuver. But it is finally allowing the Freedom to Vote and John Lewis Voting Rights Acts - now combined and renamed as the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act - to be debated on the floor.

In order to pass a bill the Senate must open debate, close debate, then proceed to a final vote. The process of closing debate to get to a final vote requires 60 votes and will likely be blocked by a filibuster.

Here’s what needs to happen next:

• The Senate debates the bill. During this time, proponents will try to rally votes in support of the bill and obstructionists will try to stall progress with long speeches and weaken the bill with new amendments.
• To proceed to a final vote, the Senate needs to close debate.
• The only way to close debate is with 60 yay votes, or change the filibuster rules and proceed with 50 yay votes.
• If the filibuster is reformed, the bill can move to a final vote in the Senate.
• To be clear, they do not need to eliminate the filibuster to move this forward, but they do need to change the rules.

Because the votes are so split in the Senate, to keep the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act viable, the Senate will have to pass a rules change to reform the filibuster.

This bill continues to face an uphill battle, but we are hopeful a vote on filibuster reform will happen by Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Passing the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act would protect future elections from authoritarian attacks, stop dark money in our elections, end federal gerrymandering, make Election Day a holiday, require two weeks of early voting, and implement automatic voter registration in all 50 states.

John, things are moving quickly in the Senate, so please take a moment to tell your senators they need to pass the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act.

I appreciate how far we’ve come together,

James Jameson Deputy Mobilization Director RepresentUs