WASHINGTON, Jan 18 (Reuters) – President Joe Biden’s Democrats took their push to protect U.S. voting rights to the floor of the Senate on Tuesday, where legislation is roundly expected to fail in the face of united Republican opposition.
Democrats argue the legislation, backed by civil rights groups, is needed to counter a Republican-led drive to make it more difficult to vote at the state level, especially for Black and other minority voters.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, cited the urgency of what he called an onslaught of new state limits to poll access. He said a showdown vote on a bill establishing new minimum standards for federal elections administered by states would be held sometime this week.
“Democrats are prepared to fight on this issue until we succeed,” Schumer said. “We have not reached the place where every person can vote easily and openly and honestly,” he added.
Democrats are scrambling to act while they still narrowly control both chambers of Congress. Republicans are favored to take a majority in at least one chamber in next November’s mid-term elections.