Pelosi: ‘I don’t give up on Joe Manchin’

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Sunday said she doesn’t “give up on Joe Manchin” after the Democratic West Virginia senator announced last week that he will vote against a sweeping bill to overhaul elections, putting the future of the legislation in question in the evenly split Senate.

“I don’t give up on Joe Manchin. When he was governor and secretary of state in West Virginia, he initiated many of the initial ideas that are in … the For the People Act,” Pelosi told host Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Manchin in an op-ed last week announced that he would vote against the For the People Act, likely torpedoing the legislation in the evenly split Senate.

Pelosi, however, said she thinks Manchin “left the door open” and expressed optimism about the Senate’s chances of ultimately passing the legislation.

“I read the op-ed, and you read a part of it. I think he left the door open. I think it’s ajar. I’m not giving up,” she said.

“I do know that he has certain concerns about the legislation that we may be able to come to terms on,” she added.

Pelosi also revealed that she has spoken to Manchin about the bill.

The House in March passed the legislation in a 220-210 vote, with no Republicans supporting the measure.

The legislation would require states to offer mail-in ballots, a minimum of 15 days of early voting, and online and same-day voter registration. Additionally, it calls for the creation of independent commissions to draw congressional districts in an effort to put an end to partisan gerrymandering.

It would also provide additional resources to stave off foreign threats to elections, enable automatic voter registration and make Election Day a national holiday for federal workers.