Salon: House passes “historic” bill to restore and expand voting rights

Just one Republican — Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania — joined a united House Democratic caucus on Friday to pass what rights groups hailed as “historic” legislation to restore and expand voter protections that were gutted by the Supreme Court in 2013. …

The legislation now heads to the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has refused to allow a vote on Democrats’ For the People Act (H.R. 1), to which the Voting Rights Advancement Act was previously attached.

“To Majority Leader McConnell, we ask: why are you afraid of all Americans having their full right to vote?” Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections at Common Cause, said in a statement.