ATLANTA — U.S. Senate Democrats’ sweeping voting bill deadlocked in congressional committee Tuesday.

The For the People Act, also known as S.1., would make universal election changes that target states, such as Georgia, that have imposed new voting restrictions based on the former president’s false narrative that the election was stolen.

The Senate Rules Committee held an extensive mark-up of the bill but failed to pass it in a 9-9 partisan vote. The bill may still make it to the floor through procedural means, but its fate in the upper chamber remains uncertain.

Georgia has become a focal point of debate on the federal push to change voting laws. The Republican-held state legislature enacted a new law after the election that voting rights advocates and Democrats argue restricts access to the ballot.

Georgia’s two new Democratic senators, who campaigned on the promise of expanding voting access, have also become key players. During committee, Sen. Jon Ossoff introduced an amendment to combat the Georgia General Assembly’s ban on “line warming” or passing out food or water to voters in line.

One of the most contentious aspects of Georgia’s omnibus voting bill — now law — is a provision banning volunteers from passing out food or water to voters in line within 150 feet of the polling place or within 25 feet “of any voter standing in line.” Penalty would be up to a year in prison or a $1,000 fine.

Ossoff and fellow Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock announced earlier this week they would introduce stand-alone legislation, the Voters’ Access to Water Act, that prohibits states from banning volunteers from passing out snacks as long as they don’t engage in political activity and offer refreshments to every voter in line.

Ossoff offered the bill as an amendment to the federal voting package but it failed in a partisan split vote. He cited Georgia’s legacy of hour-long lines in previous elections — although a majority of polling places had reasonable lines in November.

“The reason that this is so particularly important, at least in Georgia, is that we have been plagued in recent elections by multi-hour lines, sometimes five, seven or 10-hour lines, in which thousands of voters have been forced to wait,” Ossoff said.

“This is a clear example of overreach by the state legislature and exactly the kind of moment where we should exercise our constitutional authority,” he added of the ban.

Despite other routes for the legislation to move forward, the deadlock vote and failure of Ossoff’s offered amendment are clear indicators there will be no compromise on the bill and a bad sign for Democrats who need 10 Republican votes in the chamber to pass it.

Republicans argue the legislation is an overreach by the federal government into state-run elections. Democrats hit back with examples in states, such as Georgia, where GOP-controlled statehouses are passing new laws based on false claims of voter fraud.

“This is a 911 emergency for our democracy,” Warnock said on social media following the vote. “We have to pass federal voting rights legislation, no matter what.”

Dr. Andra Gillespie, political science professor at Emory University, said although Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is still able to bring the bill to the floor for a vote, the partisan split during committee “is a harbinger of what’s to come.”

“When you have a 50-50 split, it’s a question of finding bipartisan support for it and finding enough bipartisan support that it could overcome Republican objections,” she said. “That seems unlikely.”