Democrats' bill to expand voting rights faces opposition from Republicans who want to shrink the minority vote: report

This Wednesday, the Senate took its first steps on a sweeping federal elections overhaul to expand voting rights and fight back against Republican efforts to making voting more difficult.

The bill, called the For the People Act, "would usher in landmark changes to make it easier to vote, enact new campaign finance laws and end partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts," The New York Times reports.

Although the legislation passed the House earlier this month, it faces solid opposition from Republicans.

According to Republicans, the measure is an attempt by Democrats "to give themselves a permanent political advantage by driving up turnout among minority groups and by preventing Republicans, who control a majority of statehouses, from drawing new congressional districts later this year that would tilt the playing field in their favor," the Times' Nicholas Fandos

There are no Republicans who support the bill so far, and Democrats are likely to even face opposition from their own party if they don't make "substantial changes" to the bill.

Read the full article over at The New York Times.