From the Texas Tribune: Texans John Cornyn and Ted Cruz join GOP senators to block voting rights bill that would have protected voters of color

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Republican U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz of Texas joined GOP senators to block a federal voting rights bill that would have restored protections for voters of color and helped override some of Texas’s new elections restrictions and redistricted political maps.

In what is likely to be the final push to restore a key part of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the Democratic-backed elections bill fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance debate and avoid a Senate filibuster on Wednesday.

The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act aimed to end state-level voting restrictions and bolster electoral protections for people of color, but ultimately failed in a 50-49 procedural vote that would have required 60 votes to move forward.

The bill’s failure marks a last-ditch effort by congressional Democrats to restore and expand sections of the Voting Rights Act and challenge voting restrictions enacted by an estimated 18 Republican-led state legislatures, including the Texas Legislature.

After the vote, Cornyn called the legislation “unconstitutional.” But one of the House Democrats who was at the center of the strategic fight to pass the bill responded in a critical news release.

“In choosing to block this bill, Republican Senators, including Texas’s two Senators, have once again put their political party ahead of those they were elected to serve,” said U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, a Dallas Democrat. “Nothing is more important than our democracy and we cannot lose hope.”

Texas’ new election law establishes new rules for voting by mail, strengthens protections for partisan poll watchers and rolls backs local voter initiatives used primarily in Harris County in the 2020 election.

The bill in question is the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021.