Do Democrats Have a Realistic Path Forward on Their Voting Bills? As Republicans across the country restrict voting and federal legislation stalls in Congress, the left’s eyes are on Joe Manchin. Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, and Senator Mitch McConnell, the minority leader, on Capitol Hill on Tuesday as the Senate discussed the For the People Act.Credit...Photos by Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times; J. Scott Applewhite, via Associated Press May 11, 2021, 6:43 p.m. ET The Senate on Tuesday took up the For the People Act, a sweeping bill to overhaul the country’s election system, the first step in what will probably be a long and winding legislative process. Democrats are faced with not only the all-out resistance of Republicans, but also the hesitation of their own 50th vote, Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, the lone Democrat in the chamber who hasn’t signed on as a sponsor of the bill.