Tracy Mumford

And raising concerns about election security could lay the groundwork for them to contest any races they lose.

But the bills will face a steep uphill battle in the Senate.

Where Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats have vowed to block them.

They say Republicans are trying to reshape the electorate in their favor.

And they're warning that the laws could disenfranchise low-income Americans, people of color and other blocs, some of which are big parts of the Democratic base.

The Democrats say they see the Republican efforts in Congress as part of the GOP's larger, relentless focus on voting.

That includes President Trump's recent calls to have the federal government take control over local elections.

Now, three other quick updates from Washington.

The Pentagon announced yesterday that it blew up three more alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific, killing 11 people.

It was the deadliest day of boat strikes this year.

The U.S.

military has killed more than 140 people since the attacks began in September.

Experts on the use of force have called the strikes illegal since the military cannot target civilians who don't pose a threat, even if they're breaking the law.

But the Pentagon has kept up the attacks, blowing up boats every three to four days in the last month.

Also, Democrats' latest demands to rein in federal immigration agents were rejected by the White House yesterday.

Without a deal, they say they still will not agree to fund the Department of Homeland Security.

DHS has been in a partial shutdown since Saturday.

Republicans made a counteroffer at one point, the details of which aren't public, but Democrats dismissed it, calling it unserious.

They say they will continue to hold out for things like restrictions on random sweeps by immigration agents and a ban on arrests in locations like schools, churches and hospitals.

For the moment, while the debate on Capitol Hill continues, most DHS workers like TSA agents and ICE officers have remained on the job, though they may miss paychecks the longer the shutdown drags on.