Dems, GOP clash over elections overhaul bill
The Senate Rules and Administration Committee braced for a day-long fight over an 886-page bill written by Democrats, with the input of some state elections officials.
Among its provisions are requirements that states expand mail-in voting that was used widely in last year's presidential election because of the coronavirus pandemic. It also would lengthen the hours of in-person balloting.
The unusual appearance of the Senate's top Democratic and Republican leaders at the committee's work session underscored what was at stake with such legislation being advanced as the November 2022 congressional elections came into focus.
"The bill before this committee has a very simple premise: make it easier, not harder, to vote," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, said.
He devoted most of his remarks, however, to the slew of election-law changes being enacted in Republican-controlled states this year, characterizing them as anti-democratic and saying, "They carry the stench of oppression."
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said the Democrats' bill represented nothing more than a power grab.
He zeroed in on provisions he said would foster fraudulent elections by loosening voter identification laws and allowing people to collect and turn in other voters' ballots, such as for those in remote locations or in nursing homes.
The bill faces long odds in the Senate, where at least 10 Republicans would have to join with Democrats for it to pass.
