CHARLESTON – While he still doesn’t think any federal voting rights legislation will pass, but West Virginia Secretary of State said he’s glad U.S. Senator Joe Manchin is holding steady on his opposition to filibuster reform.
“I talked to Senator Manchin a couple of months ago about all of this,” Warner, a Republican, told The West Virginia Record. “He said that he feels like he’s sitting in Robert C. Byrd’s seat and carrying on his legacy in terms of appreciating what the Constitution and filibuster does in protecting the minority. To make sure the minority gets a voice.
“And Senator Manchin doesn’t want part of his legacy to be making that go away. He wants people to have a chance to voice their opinions. He does seem to be holding the values of Senator Byrd on this one.”
Warner
Warner said he’s optimistic that any voting rights legislation pushed by Democratic Party leaders won’t be passed.
“That’s me being both realistic and hopeful,” Warner said. “The busting of the filibuster, which would be required right now to make that happen, would have so many ramifications. It could open the floodgates for Democrats on the Build Back Better act, more federal spending, deficits, packing the courts. There’s a whole host of things it could lead to, and we don’t want to go in that direction.
“Does anyone really want that whipsaw action coming back in the other direction?”
Warner said the state is behind Manchin, a former Secretary of State himself, in keeping the filibuster rules intact. But he said he thinks there are more Democrats in Washington who support Manchin’s stance as well, even if they don’t say so.
“I think they’ve appreciated that Senator Manchin has been the one taking the heat and the pressure,” Warner said. “There are more people supporting him than they’ve let it be known publicly.”
Just looking at the voting rights legislation, Warner said it is “loaded with so many things the people of West Virginia are against.”
“First, 54 of our 55 county clerks are against the bill,” Warner said. “That speaks volumes. Politics doesn’t come into play there. They’re the ones on the frontlines for election.
“It’s about the proper administration of elections. These bills are full of things that would upend how we do things. We don’t need to permanently adopt vote by mail. We’re just not geared for that.”
Warner also noted West Virginia’s history that includes more voting fraud that most states.
“We have a different history than so many other states,” he said. “We’ve had a checkered past, and we don’t want to go back to that. What they’re proposing has so many holes and opportunities for that.
“We’re all about access and security. But the West Virginia Legislature is where any changes need to be made. We need to keep proper balances between access and security.
“The biggest problem right now in America is the lack of confidence in the government, and that begins with confidence in the election process. This legislation would just exacerbate that problem. I think it would make things a lot worse.”