Democrats have failed in their bid to change Senate rules in order to pass major voting rights legislation. On Wednesday evening, Democrats Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema joined all 50 Republican senators in voting “no” on a change to the filibuster that would have allowed the voting rights measure to move forward with a simple majority. It was the fifth time in six months Republicans have successfully used the filibuster to block voting rights legislation.

That capped hours of debate Wednesday that saw some Democrats compare GOP-led voter suppression efforts to racial discrimination under Jim Crow. This is Georgia Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock — one of just three African Americans in the Senate.

Sen. Raphael Warnock: “History is watching us. Our children are counting on us. And I hope that we will have the courage to do what is right for our communities and for our country, the courage to cross this bridge, to do the hard work in this defining moral moment in America for the sake of the communities that sent us here in the first place, for the sake of the planet, for the sake of healthcare, for the sake of jobs, for the sake of being able to argue for the things that we care about.”

This comes as Republican-led state legislatures have passed more than 30 laws restricting ballot access and have introduced at least 400 more. Mother Jones reporter Ari Berman tweeted, “It’s completely undemocratic that 41 GOP senators representing 21% of US can block bills supported by 70% of public that expand voting access for tens of millions.”