Business Insider: “The University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban signed a letter to Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia — his longtime friend — pushing him to support voting-rights legislation.
The letter to Manchin, dated January 13 and signed by Saban, a West Virginia native, urged Congress “to exercise its Constitutional responsibility to enact laws that set national standards for the conduct of Federal elections and for decisions that determine election outcomes.”
“We strongly support urgently needed legislation that will protect both the rights of voters and the integrity of outcomes in all Federal elections,” the letter said, adding that a bill called the Freedom to Vote Act “effectively addressed these goals.”
Senate Democrats have sought to follow through on their promise to advance voting-rights legislation. Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, both key Democratic votes, have expressed support for two major bills, including the Freedom to Vote Act. But neither supports changing Senate rules requiring 60 votes to pass most legislation, meaning both bills would fail in the face of united Republican opposition.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins reports that Saban asked for a footnote to be included in the letter stating that the coach is not calling for the Senate to gut the filibuster. The note makes clear that Saban is not undercutting Manchin’s defense of the filibuster, which the senator has faced immense criticism from Democrats for taking.”