WASHINGTON (AP) — A key Democratic senator says he won't not vote for the largest overhaul of U.S. election law in at least a generation.

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West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin is defying his party and the White House and virtually guaranteeing the failure of the legislation after a near party-line approval in the House.

Manchin writes in a home-state newspaper that “voting and election reform that is done in a partisan manner will all but ensure partisan divisions continue to deepen.”

Manchin says lawmakers should instead focus their energies on revitalizing the landmark Voting Rights Act., which was weakened by a Supreme Court decision in 2013.

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