By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – The U.S. Senate Democrats will attempt to pass voting rights legislation despite the overwhelming Republican opposition. They are under pressure to change a key Senate rule by the end of the month to get out of the deadlock.

On Tuesday, the Senate will vote to start debate about the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. This bill would allow states to restore voting restrictions that prohibit discrimination based on race. These requirements were repealed by the U.S. Supreme Court back in 2013. The vote will take place at 2:15 PM (1815 GMT).

If Republicans do not block the bill as planned, which is what they have done with the other voting bills three times already this year, Senate Majority Lead Chuck Schumer will be facing new demands to alter or abolish the filibuster rules of the chamber. The rule requires at least 60 votes from the 100 senators to approve any legislation.

Schumer declared Tuesday in a speech to the floor that “we cannot force so much as debate if at minimum 10 Republicans don’t join us,” referring specifically to the Senate’s 50-50 split.

They owe the American people the right to debate and come up with their opinions. Schumer declared that it was unacceptable for senators to remain silent and refuse to work.

Democrats hope to receive support from Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski. However, Republicans could block any debates, according to aides.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said that the legislation, named in honor of the late congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis targets “nonexistent problems” with racial discrimination during voting. McConnell claimed that “there’s no evidence currently anywhere in the nation that states are engaging in suppression of the vote based on race.”

Democrats are making election reform a top priority due to Republican state election restrictions that were passed as a response to Trump’s false claims of voter fraud. At least 19 states have passed laws making it harder to vote, according to the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-october-2021.

Democrats and advocates for voting rights have claimed that the law will make it more difficult for Black voters and Hispanics, which are important voting blocs in Democratic Party, to vote.

Following the Republican blockade of a bill to stop restrictive state laws from being passed, Joe Biden declared last month that Democrats need to “fundamentally change” the filibuster. However, moderate Democratic Senators Joe Manchin & Kyrsten Sinema oppose its removal.

Some Senate Democrats suggested Tuesday that they could attempt to create a filibuster amendment to specifically pass the voting rights legislation before the end of this month.

According to Richard Blumenthal, Democratic Senator, “We must move forward before November ends, in my opinion, so it can impact the upcoming elections,” Reuters reported.

The bill, unlike the more expansive election reform bills Democrats had attempted to move earlier in the year, would revitalize the 1965 Voting Rights Bill partly by setting new criteria that determine which states need federal clearance before any new voting practices are implemented.