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Senate Democrats' election reform bill blocked on party-line vote

Republicans in the narrowly divided U.S. Senate on Tuesday blocked an election reform bill considered a top priority by Democrats seeking to offset a wave of laws passed by Republican-led state legislatures that impose new limits on voting.

The 50-50 party-line vote fell short of the 60-vote threshold to advance most legislation in the Senate, sparking new calls by some Democrats to rethink that rule, known as the filibuster.

Republicans argued that the bill infringed on states' rights to set voting policy.

But Democrats vowed to fight on, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer saying: "In the fight for voting rights, this vote was the starting gun, not the finish line."

Reference: Reuters