After Manchin move, Democrats voting long shot grows longer

(AP) Democrats and voting rights groups are trying to figure out what to do after a pivotal senator said he wouldn’t support a sweeping elections bill that advocates say is essential to preserving democracy.

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin said he won’t back the bill and help pass it on a party-line vote. Instead, he said he wants to find Republican support for an update to the Voting Rights Act. But only one Republican senator has signed onto that update. Conservatives say it’s unlikely many others will back it.

Voting has become a partisan issue like abortion and taxes, and there may be no voting compromise that meets Manchin’s standards.