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GOP readies blitz against Democrats' voting rights bill - The Associated Press
May 11, 2021 1 min, 40 secs
Democrats say the changes are even more important now as Republican-controlled states impose new voting restrictions after the divisive 2020 election.

The action in Congress comes as states including Georgia, Florida, Arizona and Texas are pushing new voting rules, spurred by former President Donald Trump’s false claims about election fraud after his 2020 loss.

Republicans argue the new state rules are needed to clamp down on mail ballots and other methods that became popular during the pandemic, but critics warn the states are seeking to reduce voter access, particularly for Black voters, ushering in a new Jim Crow era for the 21st century.

Trump’s claims were rejected by Republican and Democratic election officials in state after state, by U.S.

On Monday he said the coming debate would test if Republicans are willing to work on “improving out democracy” or whether they were more interested in “in helping aiding and abetting” Trump’s “big lie” about the 2020 election.

“Our Republican colleagues face a critical choice between working with Democrats in good faith to pass a law to protect our democracy, or siding with Republican state legislatures that are orchestrating the largest contraction of voting rights in decades,” Schumer said.

President Joe Biden has said the federal legislation would “restore the soul of America” by giving everyone equal access to the vote.

Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona have both said they oppose making changes to the Senate’s filibuster rules, which would be needed to maneuver the bill past Republican opposition and pass it with a simple majority in a 50-50 Senate, with Vice President Kamala Harris delivering the tiebreaking 51st vote.

As passed by the House in March, the legislation would create automatic voter registration nationwide, require states to offer 15 days of early voting, require more disclosure from political donors and restrict partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts, among other changes.

In the latest version of the legislation, states would have more time and flexibility to put new federal rules in place.

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