Schumer Announces Senate Vote on Freedom to Vote Act

Washington, D.C. — On Thursday morning, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced the Senate will hold a procedural vote to advance S. 2747, the Freedom to Vote Act, next Wednesday, Oct. 20. The landmark legislation would establish national voting standards, ban partisan gerrymandering and take steps to combat election subversion. Passing the bill is critical to combat the wave of voter suppression laws enacted this year and overturning partisan gerrymanders currently under consideration in states like Texas.

While the Freedom to Vote Act is backed by the Senate Democratic Caucus and President Biden, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has already announced that no Republicans will support the bill. A filibuster like the one that killed the For the People Act earlier this year is likely. Should that occur, the fate of the Freedom to Vote Act will depend on the steps Senate Democrats are willing to take to circumvent Republican opposition, such as a carve-out for voting rights or eliminating it entirely.