Republican and Democratic senators clashed Tuesday as lawmakers considered dozens of amendments to a sweeping election reform proposal, many of which were meant to address concerns raised by state and local elections officials.
The Senate Rules Committee held an hours-long markup of S.1 For the People Act, a Democrat-backed bill that seeks to standardize many elements of early voting and voter registration across the United States. While the House passed a version of the proposal in March, the bill’s future in the Senate remains in doubt due to partisan divide.
The evenly split Rules Committee deadlocked in a 9-9 vote on the bill and did not report it out of committee. However, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer promised to bring the proposal to the floor for debate and a vote. A series of amendments also failed on party-line votes, underscoring partisan divide on the larger issue.
Several states, including Georgia, Florida and on Tuesday Arizona, have enacted new restrictions this year on voter access. Democrats point to the wave of state legislation that aims to restrict voter access as the driving need behind the federal legislation. The Brennan Center for Justice has identified more than 350 election-related bills introduced by state lawmakers that include restrictive provisions.
“The For the People Act i ..
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