U.S. voting-rights bill passes in the House, but Senate prospects remain unclear

By Moira Warburton

WASHINGTON – A Democratic bill intended to protect voting rights passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, though its chances were unclear in the narrowly divided Senate, where Republicans are unified in opposition.

The bill is a maneuver by Democrats in which the House repackaged and passed the two elections-related bills as one, sending it to the Senate under a special procedure preventing Republicans from blocking debate.

The bill was approved along party lines and will now move to the Senate.

(Reporting by Moira Warburton and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Scott Malone and Jonathan Oatis)