Senate to hold key vote on Democrats' sweeping voting rights bill

Washington — The Senate on Tuesday is set to hold a key procedural vote on a sweeping voting and elections reform bill, an attempt by Democrats to respond to restrictive voting measures enacted by Republican-led states across the country in the wake of the 2020 election. But the measure is all but certain to fail, given Senate Republicans' staunch opposition.

On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday's vote is simply to begin debate on voting rights.  "It's not a vote on any particular policy," Schumer said. "It's not a vote on this bill or that bill. It's a vote on whether the Senate should simply debate the issue about voting rights, the crucial issue of voting rights in this country."