Republican Mitch McConnell collates US election reform bill as power grab

Republican Mitch McConnell in the US Senate on Wednesday compares sweeping election reform bill passed in the House of Representatives earlier this month as a partisan power grab.

Democrats say the bill that updates voting procedures and requires states to turn over the redrawing congressional district lines to independent commissions.

“This is clearly an effort by one party to rewrite the rules of the political system,” Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said at the start of a rules committee hearing.

Many Republican-controlled state legislatures are exploring steps that voting-rights advocates say would reduce turnout after record-setting participation in the November 2020 general election.

The House-passed bill faces an uphill battle in the 50-50 Senate, where Democrats hold the majority by virtue of Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote, but most legislation needs 60 votes to pass.

Some Senate Democrats argue that it is time to eliminate or pare back the 60-vote rule – known as the filibuster – to allow legislation to pass with a simple majority, as it is in the House.