Republicans scuttle Democrats’ election bill

The For the People Act failed on a 50-50 vote in the Senate, which needed 60 votes to overcome a Republican filibuster. The legislation would have shifted a great deal of power over election law from states to Washington. The bill touched on virtually every aspect of how elections are conducted, including expanding mail-in voting, eliminating some Republican-sponsored voting laws, and changing campaign finance laws.

Why the partisan divide? Democrats believe the new voting laws in Republican-led states make it more difficult for citizens, specifically minorities, to vote and thus require greater federal control. Republicans on the other hand believe the requirements are important to prevent fraud. They believe the bill is unconstitutional as the election system is the domain of the states, not the federal government. Democrats have vowed to continue the fight to overhaul U.S. election law.

Dig Deeper: Read Harvest Prude’s report on the tug-of-war over Republican and Democratic election reform proposals.