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#The Wall Street Journal: Democrats expressing hope that renewed push to protect voting rights could get some Republicans onboard

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“#The Wall Street Journal: Democrats expressing hope that renewed push to protect voting rights could get some Republicans onboard”

WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers were working to finalize whittled-down elections legislation as they reached Friday’s anniversary of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, with negotiators saying they were close on a measure intended to override state voting restrictions by setting minimum standards for accessing the ballot.

From the archives (March 2021): Voting rights intensify as partisan battleground, with Democrats pushing H.R. 1 and Republicans altering election procedures at state level

The Margin: More than 150 companies — including Amazon and Facebook — call for federal voting rights protections

An earlier proposal stalled, sending Democrats back to the drawing board, both to resolve intraparty disagreements and fashion proposals that could draw Republican support. Democrats are pushing for new federal voting laws as many Republican-run states are moving to tighten voting rules, citing election security.

Democrats say there is additional urgency because this month the Census Bureau is slated to release the first major results of the most recent census, which will drive the redrawing of congressional maps.

Senate Rules Committee Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.) met on Thursday with other Democrats including Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W. Va.) to iron out some remaining sticking points.

Capitol Report (July 2021): Biden blasts ‘assault on democracy’ in speech on voting rights

The Democrats have agreed to narrow the bill, with an emphasis on voting procedures, and scale back their sweeping elections and ethics measure known as the “For the People Act,” which touches on everything from how districts are drawn to how campaigns are financed and how ballots may be cast.

An expanded version of this report appears at WSJ.com.

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