Senate to take up sweeping voting rights bill in June

The Senate will take up S. 1, a sweeping voting rights and campaign finance reform bill, at the end of June, signaling that Democrats are pressing forward with their agenda despite the threat of filibuster by Republicans.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a letter to colleagues that the Senate will vote on the "For the People Act" in the last week of the June work period. But the bill is unlikely to move forward in the Senate, as most legislation requires 60 votes to advance, and Democrats have a 50-seat majority. Republicans oppose S. 1, meaning that a vote to end debate on it is all but certain to fail. The bill would revise government ethics and campaign finance laws, and try to strengthen voting rights by creating automatic voter registration and expanding access to early and absentee voting. The legislation would also require states to overhaul their voter registration systems, limit states' ability to remove people from voter rolls, increase federal funds for election security, and reform the redistricting process.