New York on brink of major voting rights act

New York state legislators are poised to give final approval to a major overhaul of election rules meant to expand access to the polls and to tilt legal scales toward voters.

The legislation, modeled on Democratic proposals that are stalled in Congress and named for the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), passed the Democratic-controlled state Senate on Tuesday on a party-line vote. The state Assembly, also under Democratic control, is expected to take up the measure before the end of the week.