US Republicans have torpedoed a Democratic bid to implement nationwide election rules, a cherished priority of President Joe Biden’s party.
The huge bill – which sought to make it easier for Americans to vote – ended up deadlocked 50-50 along party lines.
Mr Biden said the issue was the “fight of his presidency”, but some Democrats accuse him of not fighting hard enough.
Advocates say the bill would have been the most far-reaching election measure since the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
It comes as Republican-led states advance proposals – which Mr Biden has depicted as racially discriminatory – to tighten election laws, and as former President Donald Trump, a Republican, continues to peddle unfounded claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
The Democrats’ For the People Act passed the House of Representatives in March in a near party-line vote, with one Democrat joining all Republicans in opposing the bill.
Source:bbc.com
