Voting legislation that's a top priority for Democrats and civil rights leaders seemed headed for defeat as the Senate opened debate Tuesday, a devastating setback enabled by President Joe Biden’s own party as two holdout senators refuse to support rule changes to overcome a Republican filibuster. The Democratic senators, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, face strong criticism from Black leaders and civil rights organizations for failing to take on what the critics call the “Jim Crow filibuster.” The debate carries echoes of an earlier era when the Senate filibuster was deployed by opponents of civil rights legislation. It comes as Democrats and other voting advocates nationwide warn that Republican-led states are passing laws making it more difficult for Black Americans and others to vote by consolidating polling locations, requiring certain types of identification and ordering other changes. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer acknowledged the current bill's likely defeat this week. But he said the fight is not over as he heeds advocates' call to force all senators to go on record with their positions. This is the fifth time the Senate will try to pass voting legislation this Congress. • • • • • We strive to create a place for meaningful discussion on all our platforms. Due to staff time, the sheer number of comments and increasingly divisive discourse, we have disabled comments on all videos from the wire service and when threads diverge into attacks, spam or hateful talk. ------------------ For More News and Videos SUBSCRIBE and Turn Notifications On https://bit.ly/2r0BEND Get a Digital Subscription to the Tampa Bay Times https://bit.ly/2Xinunj Follow us: Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/tampabaycom Twitter ► https://twitter.com/TB_Times Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/tampabaytimes #USSenate #Senate