Democrats seek ways to fold voting rights into infrastructure bill

ATLANTA (AP) – Congressional Democrats are exploring ways to include financial incentives for states to expand voting access as part of a massive infrastructure bill.

This, according to Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who chairs the Senate Rules Committee.

Democrats have struggled to get their marquee election reform bill passed in an evenly split Senate, where Republicans remain unified in their opposition and rules require 60 votes to advance most pieces of legislation.

Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, said in an interview yesterday that the priority continues to be passing the For the People Act, which would usher in minimum voting standards in the U.S. such as automatic and same-day voter registration, early voting and no-excuse absentee voting.

But Klobuchar noted Democrats could also use the process known as reconciliation to create financial incentives for states to adopt voting reform. Election systems are seen as critical infrastructure – on par with the nation’s power plants, banks and dams.