Democrats may change US Senate rules to pass voting rights bill

US Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer threatened on Monday to change the Senate’s rules if Republicans continue to block voting rights legislation.

Schumer, in a letter to fellow senators, compared laws passed by Republican-led legislatures in several states to the attack on the US Capitol by supporters of former president Donald Trump.

“Much like the violent insurrectionists who stormed the US Capitol nearly one year ago, Republican officials in states across the country have seized on the former president’s Big Lie about widespread voter fraud to enact anti-democratic legislation,” he said.

“They want to unwind the progress of our Union, restrict access to the ballot, silence the voices of millions of voters, and undermine free and fair elections.”

Democrats have accused Republican state legislatures of enacting laws that would restrict the voting rights of minorities and curtail early voting and mail-in voting.