Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer stated Monday that the Senate will take a procedural vote on a bill on Wednesday that would reinstate requirements whether specific states and counties seek government approval before redrawing voting districts, which were struck down by the US Supreme Court in 2013, Reuters reports.
The action is anticipated to be blocked by Republicans, who argue that the federal government should not interfere with state-run electoral activities.
In November of next year, one-third of the Senate’s 100 seats and all 435 House of Representatives posts will be up for election. Democrats have a slim majority in both chambers.
Republicans have previously thwarted Schumer’s efforts to push comprehensive electoral reform legislation that would make it simpler for American citizens to cast a ballot by mail and vote early in person.
That initiative was an attempt to overturn restrictive legislation imposed this year by Republican-controlled legislatures and governors in a number of states. These measures, along with others in the works, are part of a Republican narrative that the 2020 presidential election would be riddled with voter fraud, as former President Donald Trump erroneously asserted last year.
Various court rulings and Trump’s own Justice Department found no significant vote violations that cast doubt on President Joe Biden’s victory.
Many Democrats are urging Schumer to change or repeal the Senate’s filibuster rule so that voting rights legislation may be passed with a simple majority vote, rather than the current 60-vote barrier, which requires Republican participation.
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