It was not a good week for Democrats in DC.  The Senate failed to break the filibuster on the two voting rights bills, and the President’s Build Back Better (BBB) is dead – what next?

On the voting rights front there are serious talks proceeding on ways to change the Electoral Count Act (ECA) of 1887.  I must confess over the years I was viewed as somewhat of a political junkie, knowing a lot of the less known rules and procedures for both Congress and elections; but I had never heard of the ECA.  The mess surrounding January 6 pointed to the failures in the counting of the Electoral College votes. One major issue is the rules that allows just one House member and one Senator to object and force a formal protest.  Similarly, the ceremonial role of the Vice President had never been seriously questioned – but both played roles last year.

A bipartisan group is in serious discussions on ways to change the rules and add clarity.  No one is in a rush but it is rising on the agenda for all the leaders.  It may be possible to add some of the less controversial ideas that were in the John Lewis Voting Rights Bill and the Freedom to Vote Bill and put them into the bipartisan package. 

The BBB package in the form it passed the House is dead...

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