A key Senate committee on Tuesday began debating Democrats’ sweeping elections overhaul, muscling toward a vote on a landmark national expansion of voting rights meant to blunt ballot restrictions by Republican-controlled statehouses. Liberals who have made the bill, H.R. 1, their top legislative priority hailed the debate and anticipated vote in the Senate Rules Committee as a significant milestone. But with Republicans digging in to oppose the 800-page bill, the parties were expected to deadlock on a final vote by the committee, which is evenly divided between the two parties. During a tense debate on Tuesday, Democrats feigned trying to build bipartisan support.

Source: New York Times May 11, 2021 12:28 UTC