The Democratic-controlled US House of Representatives passed a flagship election reform bill on Wednesday that would update voting procedures and require states to turn over the task of redrawing congressional districts to independent commissions.

The bill passed by a mostly bipartisan vote of 220 to 210. The legislation, numbered “H.R. 1” for the importance Democrats attach to it, “is designed to restore the voices of Americans who felt left out and locked out for too long”, its original sponsor, Representative John Sarbanes, said.

President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has said he would sign the bill into law if it cleared both the House and the Senate. But the bills face long odds in the Senate, where all 48 Democrats and the two independents would need to be joined by 10 Republican senators to overcome a filibuster.