By Moira Warburton

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – Monday’s legislation by the Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives would require employers to pay their employees to vote. It follows earlier failures of Congress to pass important voting rights legislation.

U.S. Representative Nikema Williams, Georgia, stated that the “Time Off to Vote Act” would fill gaps in state laws. She cited long lines at polling stations in Georgia and other states during past elections.

Democrats led by U.S.-President Joe Biden attempted to obtain major voting rights legislation. However, they were stopped earlier this year by two centrist Democratic senators who refused to remove the filibuster from the Senate. The filibuster is a Senate procedure that requires all bills to win at least 60 vote to be considered for advancement. The broad voting rights legislation was opposed by all 50 Senate Republicans.

A new, narrow bill “would ensure that no worker must sacrifice their wages or compromise their job security in order to exercise their sacred rights to vote,” Andy Levin, Democratic Representative, stated in a statement.

Many Democrats fear that the inability to take action on voting rights in November’s midterm elections will harm them, in particular in Georgia, where they have narrowly won victories following a campaign for protecting the right of all citizens to vote.

An earlier voting rights bill, which was approved by the House but put to death by the Senate in January, would have required minimum federal voting standards. This means that registered voters could mail their ballots. The bill would also have provided at least two weeks for early voting, expanded the use of drop boxes and made voting easier in many places.