NEWS FLASH

House Republicans Block Early Voting Bill | Earlier this afternoon, the newly sworn in House of Representatives passed, on a largely party-line vote, a Republican-backed rules package which authorizes a House body to continue to defend the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act and which embraces a continued witchhunt against Attorney General Eric Holder. Immediately before this vote, however, House Democrats attempted to insert the SIMPLE Voting Act of 2013, which would require early voting for 10 hours a day for a period of 15 days before a federal election, and which would require polling places to provide sufficient voting systems and poll workers to ensure that no voter waits more than one hour to vote, into the rules package. This voting rights bill was defeated 194-229, also on a largely party line vote.