Senate blocks John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act; bill fails to break filibuster 49-51

The Senate fails to advance the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act on January 19, 2022, with the vote falling 49-51 along party lines, short of the 60 votes needed to break the Republican filibuster. The bill would have restored a modern coverage formula to replace the one the Supreme Court struck down in Shelby County v. Holder (2013), requiring states with recent records of voting discrimination to seek federal preclearance before changing election laws. Democrats Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema vote against changing Senate rules to pass the bill by simple majority, defeating a parallel effort by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to create a filibuster carve-out for voting rights legislation.