Senate grapples with election reform legislation as time runs short to act
Bipartisan legislation aimed at preventing attempts to steal elections and another attack on the Capitol is sitting on the shelf, and as the clock ticks on the
WASHINGTON — Bipartisan legislation aimed at preventing attempts to steal elections and another attack on the Capitol is sitting on the shelf, and as the clock ticks on the current Democratic-controlled Congress it remains unclear when a vote will take place, or what the proposals will ultimately look like.
“It’s something we’d like to get done. And we’re going to try to figure out the best way to get it done,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters this week.
There’s an urgency to act because Democrats — and some Republicans — worry that a possible GOP-controlled House, wary of triggering former President Donald Trump’s ire, would ignore the issue next year. But in the Senate, the growing expectation is that a vote will be punted into the lame duck session between the Nov. 8 midterm election and when the new Congress is seated on Jan. 3.
“I hope there’s going to be a vote soon,” said Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, a member of the bipartisan group that developed the bills.
The momentum is there, and it has generated optimism. As with most pursuits in the current Congress, the key question is how far Republicans are willing to go, as their support is needed to gain 60 votes to defeat a guaranteed filibuster.
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