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McConnell, GOP Go On Offensive Against Democrats' Election Overhaul

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Sen. Mitch McConnell is taking a leading role in Republican efforts to halt Democrats' sweeping voting rights reform package.

Republicans are going on offense against the priority voting rights legislation, forcing Democrats to take a series of votes in committee that the GOP hopes will highlight more contentious aspects of the package.

Senate Minority Leader McConnell repeated what's likely to become the GOP mantra in the coming days -- that the voting rights legislation is a purely partisan exercise.

"There's nothing bipartisan about this," the senator told colleagues. "This was cooked up at the Democratic National Committee and designed to advantage one side at the disadvantage of the other."

But Democrats argue the overhaul is itself a necessary response to Republican efforts in states like Georgia, Florida, and Texas to enact their preferred voting rules. Democrats say those reforms are aimed at reducing access to the ballot box.

Democrats would need to thread several needles in the Senate to pass the overhaul, including winning over skeptical moderates in their own party and creating a way around the chamber's filibuster rule.

Josh James fell in love with college radio at Western Kentucky University's student station, New Rock 92 (now Revolution 91.7). After working as a DJ and program director, he knew he wanted to come home to Lexington and try his hand in public radio.