COTTON CALLS focus on voting rights misguided.

WASHINGTON — Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton, both Republicans from Arkansas, opposed an effort to move forward a voting rights measure backed by Senate Democrats on Wednesday.

Arkansas is ranked last nationwide in voter turnout and voter registration, according to a federal report published last year on the 2020 general election. Nationwide, among the 50 states, Arkansas recorded by far the highest rejection rate for mailed-in ballots.

The Arkansas senators sided with fellow Senate Republicans in coming out against the omnibus voting rights legislation, which Democrats argue is critical to protecting American democracy. Specifically, Boozman and Cotton voted against a procedural motion that would have allowed the bill to move forward.

The bill, known as the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act, is a combination of previous legislation in Congress. The omnibus legislation would make Election Day a national holiday and would expand automatic voter registration, same-day registration and early voting, according to an overview from the Committee on House Administration.

Democrats are operating with a razor-thin majority in the Senate. President Joe Biden was unable to persuade two Democrats to alter Senate rules so Democrats could overcome a GOP filibuster.

Arkansas’ all-Republican delegation in the U.S. House has opposed the bill. The House passed the voting measure earlier this month in a vote along party lines.

Lawmakers spent hours hacking away at one another’s arguments during Senate floor speeches Wednesday.

During a floor speech Wednesday, Cotton portrayed Democrats’ attention on voting rights as misguided. Democrats’ push on voting legislation comes as the public is facing issues like inflation and overdose deaths, he argued.

“These are all real problems that the American people have told us repeatedly they want us to address. But we haven’t heard much about [that],” Cotton said.

“We’re not here in session this week to debate those problems,” he said. In the past, Cotton has referred to voting rights legislation as an “election takeover bill.”

Democrats have framed the voting changes as essential, arguing that Republican-majority state legislatures are making it tougher for certain citizens to vote.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer lambasted Republicans on Tuesday, saying that “virtually every Senate Republican” is against legislation that would protect the right to vote. The right to vote, he said, is the cornerstone of the nation’s democracy.

“Over the past year, as you know, Republican-controlled legislatures have worked to pass legislation that would make it harder for Americans to vote,” he said, arguing that their efforts are aimed at “people of color, at poor people, at young people, at disabled people, at elderly people, at people who live in cities.”

Republicans, who have railed against the voting legislation, have emphasized the importance of upholding the filibuster and say it is key to preserving the voices of the minority political party in the Senate.

During a speech earlier this month, Boozman said many Democrats are yielding to “short-sighted political calculations.” He accused them of endorsing changing the Senate rules to ram through their legislative priorities.

“The ability to prevent radical, swift and far-reaching changes that would surely sow confusion and uncertainty is invaluable,” he said in the remarks earlier this month. “As such, I intend to continue protecting the filibuster.”

On social media Wednesday, Boozman said, “Democrats’ radical elections takeover will fail.”

Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., said the omnibus legislation would restore voting protections established by the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

“Protections that have been eroded by the Supreme Court and are born from an era where members of this body used to work together to solve the tough issues of our time,” he said.

Boozman has supported voting legislation in the past. In 2006, as a member of the U.S. House, he voted for a reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act.

The legislation, which was signed by then-President George W. Bush, a Republican, said that “racial and language minorities” remained politically vulnerable.