In June, just days before the U.S. Senate was to vote on Democrats’ federal takeover of elections deceptively named the ‘For the People Act,’ West Virginia’s Senator Joe Manchin drew a red line in the sand. The senator issued a three-page list of policy demands, outlining for the first time his willingness to support key provisions of Democrats’ election legislation. According to Bloomberg, Manchin’s proposed changes constituted “a bid for a compromise on an issue that has put him at odds with the rest of his party.”