I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7740 

To establish the use of ranked choice voting in elections for Senators and 

Representatives in Congress, to require each State with more than one 

Representative to establish multi-member congressional districts, to require States to conduct congressional redistricting according to nonpartisan criteria, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 20, 2024 

Mr. BEYER (for himself, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. MCGOVERN, and Mr. PETERS) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and 

in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to 

be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To establish the use of ranked choice voting in elections 

for Senators and Representatives in Congress, to require 

each State with more than one Representative to establish multi-member congressional districts, to require 

States to conduct congressional redistricting according 

to nonpartisan criteria, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Fair Representation Act’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Finding of constitutional authority. 

TITLE I—RANKED CHOICE VOTING 

Sec. 101. Requiring ranked choice voting for election of Senators and Representatives. 

Sec. 102. Applicability of enforcement provisions of Help America Vote Act of 

2002. 

Sec. 103. Effective date. 

TITLE II—MULTI-MEMBER DISTRICTS 

Sec. 201. Requiring use of multi-member districts in certain States. 

Sec. 202. Election of representatives at large in certain States. 

Sec. 203. Establishing minimum number of candidates in general election. 

Sec. 204. Conforming amendments. 

Sec. 205. Prohibition on winner-take-all elections. 

Sec. 206. Exception for States in which use of multi-member or at large districts will result in diminishment of voting rights. 

Sec. 207. Effective date. 

TITLE III—NONPARTISAN REDISTRICTING REFORM 

Sec. 301. Requiring congressional redistricting plans to comply with nonpartisan criteria. 

Sec. 302. Ban on mid-decade redistricting. 

Sec. 303. Criteria for redistricting. 

Sec. 304. Development of plan. 

Sec. 305. Failure by State to enact plan. 

Sec. 306. Civil enforcement. 

Sec. 307. Effective date. 

TITLE IV—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Sec. 401. No effect on elections for State and local office. 

Sec. 402. Severability. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDING OF CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY. 

7 Congress finds that it has the authority to establish 

8 the terms and conditions States must follow in carrying 

9 out congressional redistricting after an apportionment of 


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1 Members of the House of Representatives and in admin2 istering elections for the Senate and House of Representa3 tives because— 

4 (1) the authority granted to Congress under ar5 ticle I, section 4 of the Constitution of the United 

6 States gives Congress the power to enact laws gov7 erning the time, place, and manner of elections for 

8 Senators and Members of the House of Representa9 tives; 

10 (2) the authority granted to Congress under 

11 section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Con12 stitution gives Congress the power to enact laws to 

13 enforce section 2 of such amendment, which requires 

14 Representatives to be apportioned among the several 

15 States according to their number; and 

16 (3) the authority granted to Congress under 

17 section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Con18 stitution gives Congress the power to enact laws to 

19 enforce section 1 of such amendment, including pro20 tections against excessive partisan gerrymandering 

21 that Federal courts have not enforced because they 

22 understand such enforcement to be committed to 

23 Congress by the Constitution. 


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1 TITLE I—RANKED CHOICE 

2 VOTING 

3 SEC. 101. REQUIRING RANKED CHOICE VOTING FOR ELEC4 TION OF SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Help America 

6 Vote Act of 2001 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended 

7 by adding at the end the following new subtitle: 

8 ‘‘Subtitle C—Ranked Choice Voting 

9 ‘‘PART 1—REQUIRING RANKED CHOICE VOTING 

10 FOR ELECTION OF SENATORS AND REP11 RESENTATIVES 

12 ‘‘SEC. 321. REQUIRING RANKED CHOICE VOTING FOR ELEC13 TION OF SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES. 

14 ‘‘(a) RANKED CHOICE VOTING.—Except as provided 

15 in section 205 of the Fair Representation Act, each State 

16 shall carry out elections for the office of Senator and the 

17 office of Representative in Congress using ranked choice 

18 voting, a system under which each voter may rank the can19 didates for the office in the order of the voter’s preference, 

20 and ballots are tabulated, in accordance with the following: 

21 ‘‘(1) In any single-seat election and any election 

22 for the office of Senator, the State shall carry out 

23 the election using single-seat ranked choice voting as 

24 described in section 322(a). 


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1 ‘‘(2) In any multi-seat election, the State shall 

2 carry out the election using multi-seat ranked choice 

3 voting as described in section 322(b). 

4 ‘‘(b) BALLOT DESIGN.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall ensure 

6 that the ballot used in an ranked choice voting elec7 tion under this title meets each of the following re8 quirements: 

9 ‘‘(A) The ballot shall allow voters to rank 

10 candidates in order of choice. 

11 ‘‘(B) The number of candidates whom a 

12 voter may rank in the election, as determined 

13 under paragraph (2), shall be uniform for all 

14 voters in the election within the State 

15 ‘‘(C) The ballot shall include all qualified 

16 candidates for the election and (to the extent 

17 permitted under State law) options for voters to 

18 select write-in candidates. 

19 ‘‘(D) The ballot shall include such instruc20 tions as the State considers necessary to enable 

21 the voter to rank candidates and successfully 

22 cast the ballot under the system. 

23 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF NUMBER OF CAN24 DIDATES VOTER MAY RANK.—The number of canVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:02 Apr 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7740.IH H7740

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1 didates a voter may rank in a ranked choice voting 

2 election shall be determined as follows: 

3 ‘‘(A) If feasible, the ballot shall permit vot4 ers to rank a number of candidates in the elec5 tion which is not fewer than the number of 

6 seats in the election plus 4. 

7 ‘‘(B) If the number of candidates in the 

8 election is less than the number of ranking pro9 vided under subparagraph (A), the ballot shall 

10 permit voters to rank a number of candidates 

11 which is not fewer than the number of can12 didates in the election, including write-in can13 didates. 

14 ‘‘(C) If it is not feasible for the ballot to 

15 permit voters to rank as many candidates as re16 quired under subparagraphs (A) or (B), the 

17 State may limit the number of candidates who 

18 may be ranked for each election on the ballot 

19 to a maximum feasible number established by 

20 the State, except that such number may not be 

21 less than 5 for any election on the ballot. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 322. TABULATION OF BALLOTS. 

23 ‘‘(a) TABULATION FOR SINGLE-SEAT CONGRES24 SIONAL ELECTIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) PROCESS FOR TABULATION.—In the case 

2 of a single-seat election, each ballot cast in the elec3 tion shall count as one vote for the highest-ranked 

4 active candidate on the ballot. Tabulation shall pro5 ceed in rounds as described in paragraphs (2) and 

6 (3). 

7 ‘‘(2) ELIMINATION OF CANDIDATES DURING

8 TABULATION.—If there are more than two active 

9 candidates, the active candidate with the fewest 

10 votes is eliminated, each vote cast on a ballot for the 

11 eliminated candidate shall be counted for the next12 ranked active candidate on the ballot, and a new 

13 round shall begin. 

14 ‘‘(3) COMPLETION OF TABULATION; ELECTION

15 OF CANDIDATE.—When there are two or fewer active 

16 candidates— 

17 ‘‘(A) tabulation is complete; and 

18 ‘‘(B) the candidate receiving the greatest 

19 number of votes shall be elected to the office of 

20 Senator or Representative in Congress (or, in 

21 the case of a primary election, shall advance to 

22 the general election for such office as provided 

23 under the law of the State involved). 

24 ‘‘(b) TABULATION FOR MULTI-SEAT CONGRES25 SIONAL ELECTIONS.—— 


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1 ‘‘(1) PROCESS FOR TABULATION.—In the case 

2 of a multi-seat election, each ballot cast in the elec3 tion shall count at its current transfer value for the 

4 highest-ranked active candidate on the ballot. Tab5 ulation shall proceed as described in paragraphs (2), 

6 (3), and (4). 

7 ‘‘(2) ELECTION OF CANDIDATES DURING TAB8 ULATION; SURPLUS-TRANSFER ROUND.—If any ac9 tive candidate has a number of votes greater than or 

10 equal to the election threshold, that candidate shall 

11 be designated as elected, and the surplus votes shall 

12 be transferred to other candidates as follows: 

13 ‘‘(A) Unless paragraph (4) applies, each 

14 ballot counting for an elected candidate shall be 

15 assigned a new transfer value by multiplying 

16 the ballot’s current transfer value by the sur17 plus fraction for the elected candidate, trun18 cated after 4 decimal places. 

19 ‘‘(B) Each candidate elected under this 

20 paragraph shall be deemed to have a number of 

21 votes equal to the election threshold for the con22 test in all future rounds, each ballot counting 

23 towards the elected candidate shall be trans24 ferred at its new transfer value to its nextVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:02 Apr 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7740.IH H7740

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1 ranked active candidate, and a new round shall 

2 begin. 

3 ‘‘(C) If two or more candidates have a 

4 number of votes greater than the election 

5 threshold, the surpluses shall be distributed si6 multaneously in the same round. 

7 ‘‘(3) ELIMINATION OF CANDIDATES DURING

8 TABULATION; ELIMINATION ROUND.—Unless para9 graph (2) or paragraph (4) applies, the active can10 didate with the fewest votes is eliminated, each vote 

11 cast on a ballot for the eliminated candidate shall be 

12 counted for the next-ranked active candidate on the 

13 ballot, and a new round shall begin. 

14 ‘‘(4) COMPLETION OF TABULATION.—Tabula15 tion in a multi-seat election is complete if— 

16 ‘‘(A) the number of elected candidates is 

17 equal to the number of seats to be filled and 

18 any remaining votes in excess of the election 

19 threshold have been counted for each ballot’s 

20 next-ranked active candidate; or 

21 ‘‘(B) the sum of the number of elected 

22 candidates and the number of active candidates 

23 is less than or equal to the number of seats to 

24 be filled at any time. 

25 ‘‘(c) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN BALLOTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) TREATMENT OF UNDERVOTES.—A ballot 

2 which is an undervote shall not be counted in any 

3 round of tabulation of ballots in an election under 

4 this section. For purposes of this paragraph, an 

5 ‘undervote’ is a ballot for which the voter does not 

6 rank any of the candidates in the election. 

7 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF INACTIVE BALLOTS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A ballot which be9 comes an inactive ballot shall no longer count 

10 for any candidate for the remainder of the tab11 ulation of ballots in an election under this sec12 tion after the ballot becomes inactive. 

13 ‘‘(B) INACTIVE BALLOT DEFINED.—For 

14 purposes of this paragraph, an ‘inactive ballot’ 

15 is a ballot on which— 

16 ‘‘(i) all of the ranked candidates on 

17 the ballot have become inactive; or 

18 ‘‘(ii) the voter ranks more than one 

19 candidate at the same ranking and all can20 didates at a higher ranking have become 

21 inactive. 

22 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF SKIPPED OR REPEATED

23 RANKINGS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A ballot which in25 cludes any skipped or repeated ranking shall reVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:02 Apr 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7740.IH H7740

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1 main active and continue to be counted for the 

2 highest-ranked active candidate in an election 

3 under this section. 

4 ‘‘(B) SKIPPED AND REPEATED RANKINGS

5 DEFINED.—For purposes of this paragraph— 

6 ‘‘(i) a ‘skipped ranking’ is a ranking 

7 a voter does not assign to any candidate 

8 while assigning a subsequent ranking to a 

9 candidate; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) a ‘repeated ranking’ is a ranking 

11 for which the voter has assigned the same 

12 candidate that the voter assigned to an13 other ranking. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 323. TREATMENT OF TIES BETWEEN CANDIDATES. 

15 ‘‘(a) RESOLUTION BY LOT.—If a tie occurs between 

16 candidates with the greatest number of votes or the fewest 

17 number of votes at any point in the tabulation of ballots 

18 under this part and the tabulation cannot proceed until 

19 the tie is resolved, the tie shall be resolved by lot or by 

20 such other method as may be provided under State law. 

21 ‘‘(b) RESOLUTION PRIOR TO TABULATION.—Prior to 

22 tabulation, the chief election official of the State may re23 solve prospective ties between candidates by lot or accord24 ing to the method provided under State law, as described 

25 in subsection (a). 


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1 ‘‘(c) USE DURING RECOUNT.— The result of the res2 olution of any tie shall be recorded and reused for pur3 poses of any recount under State law. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 324. DEFINITIONS. 

5 ‘‘In this part, the following definitions apply: 

6 ‘‘(1) The term ‘active candidate’ means, with 

7 respect to any round of tabulation under this part, 

8 a candidate who has not been elected or eliminated, 

9 and who is not a withdrawn candidate. 

10 ‘‘(2) The term ‘election threshold’ means the 

11 number of votes sufficient for a candidate to be 

12 elected in a multi-seat election. Such number is 

13 equal to the total votes counted for active candidates 

14 in the first round of tabulation, divided by the sum 

15 of one plus the number of seats to be filled, then in16 creased by one, disregarding any fractions. 

17 ‘‘(3) The term ‘highest-ranked active candidate’ 

18 means the active candidate assigned to a higher 

19 ranking than any other active candidate. 

20 ‘‘(4) The term ‘multi-seat election’ means any 

21 primary election in which more than one candidate 

22 in the primary election will advance to the general 

23 election, any special election for more than one seat, 

24 and any general election in which more than one 


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1 Representative is elected at large or in a multi-mem2 ber district. 

3 ‘‘(5) The term ‘ranking’ means the number 

4 available to be assigned by a voter to a candidate to 

5 express the voter’s choice for that candidate, with ‘1’ 

6 as the highest ranking and each succeeding positive 

7 number as the next highest ranking. 

8 ‘‘(6) The term ‘single-seat election’ means any 

9 primary election in which exactly one candidate in 

10 the primary election will advance to the general elec11 tion, any special election for exactly one seat, any 

12 general election for the office of Senator, and any 

13 general election in which only one Representative is 

14 elected at large. 

15 ‘‘(7) The term ‘surplus fraction’ means, with 

16 respect to an elected candidate as described in sec17 tion 322(b)(1), the number obtained by subtracting 

18 the election threshold from the candidate’s vote 

19 total, then dividing that number by the candidate’s 

20 vote total, truncated after four decimal places. 

21 ‘‘(8) The term ‘transfer value’ means the pro22 portion of a vote that a ballot will contribute to its 

23 highest-ranked active candidate. Each ballot begins 

24 with a transfer value of 1. If a ballot contributes to 

25 the election of a candidate under section 322(b)(1), 


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1 the transfer value shall be the new transfer value as2 signed under such section. 

3 ‘‘(9) The term ‘vote total’ means, with respect 

4 to a candidate in a round of counting, the total 

5 transfer value of all ballots counting for the can6 didate in the round. 

7 ‘‘(10) The term ‘withdrawn candidate’ means a 

8 candidate who, prior to the date of the election, files 

9 or has an authorized designee file a signed letter of 

10 withdrawal from the election, in accordance with 

11 such rules as the chief election official of the State 

12 may establish. 

13 ‘‘PART 2—PAYMENTS TO STATES TO IMPLEMENT 

14 RANKED CHOICE VOTING 

15 ‘‘SEC. 331. PAYMENTS TO STATES TO IMPLEMENT RANKED 

16 CHOICE VOTING. 

17 ‘‘(a) PAYMENTS DESCRIBED.— 

18 ‘‘(1) PAYMENTS.—Not later than June 1, 2025, 

19 the Commission shall make a payment to each State 

20 in the amount determined with respect to the State 

21 under paragraph (2). 

22 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT DETERMINED ON BASIS OF NUM23 BER OF REGISTERED VOTERS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The amount deter25 mined under this paragraph is the product of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the number of individuals reg2 istered to vote in elections for Federal of3 fice in the State, based on the most re4 cently available information on voter reg5 istration in the State, as provided to the 

6 Commission by the State; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) the per capita amount estab8 lished by the Commission under subpara9 graph (B). 

10 ‘‘(B) PER CAPITA AMOUNT.—For purposes 

11 of this paragraph, the Commission shall estab12 lish a separate, appropriate per capita payment 

13 amount for each State that may be no less than 

14 $4 and no more than $8, taking into account 

15 any reasonable demonstrated or estimated costs 

16 associated with the use of ranked choice voting, 

17 including costs related to voting equipment up18 dates; election setup licensing costs; program19 ming; ballot design and printing; training; proc20 essing, canvassing, centralization, and tabula21 tion; preliminary and final results reporting and 

22 displaying; post-election audits and recounts; 

23 and voter information, education, and engage24 ment. 


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1 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—A State shall use the payment 

2 made under subsection (a) to implement ranked choice 

3 voting under this subtitle, including educating voters 

4 about ranked choice voting, and to otherwise carry out 

5 elections for Federal office in the State. 

6 ‘‘(c) NO EFFECT ON REQUIREMENTS PAYMENTS.— 

7 The receipt or use of the payment made under this section 

8 shall not affect a State’s eligibility for or use of a require9 ments payment made under part 1 of subtitle D of title 

10 II. 

11 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

13 necessary for payments under this section. 

14 ‘‘PART 3—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

15 ‘‘SEC. 341. TREATMENT OF STATES NOT HOLDING PRIMARY 

16 ELECTIONS PRIOR TO DATE OF GENERAL 

17 ELECTION. 

18 ‘‘Nothing in this subtitle shall be construed to require 

19 a State to hold a primary election for the office of Senator 

20 or Representative in Congress prior to the date established 

21 under section 25 of the Revised Statutes of the United 

22 States (2 U.S.C. 7) for the regularly scheduled general 

23 election for such office, so long as the determination of 

24 the candidates who are elected to such office is based sole25 ly on the votes cast with respect to the election held on 


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1 such date, as determined in accordance with the system 

2 of ranked choice voting under this title. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 342. APPLICATION TO DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND 

4 TERRITORIES. 

5 ‘‘(a) ELECTION OF DELEGATES AND RESIDENT COM6 MISSIONER.—In this subtitle, the term ‘Representative’ in7 cludes a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Con8 gress. 

9 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION TO NORTHERN MARIANA IS10 LANDS.—This subtitle shall apply with respect to the 

11 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in the 

12 same manner as this subtitle applies to a State.’’. 

13 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

14 of such Act is amended by adding at the end of the item 

15 relating to title III the following: 

‘‘Subtitle C—Ranked Choice Voting 

‘‘PART 1—REQUIRING RANKED CHOICE VOTING FOR ELECTION OF

SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES

‘‘Sec. 321. Requiring ranked choice voting for election of Senators and 

Representatives. 

‘‘Sec. 322. Tabulation of ballots. 

‘‘Sec. 323. Treatment of ties between candidates. 

‘‘Sec. 324. Definitions. 

‘‘PART 2—PAYMENTS TO STATES TO IMPLEMENT RANKED CHOICE VOTING

‘‘Sec. 331. Payments to States to implement ranked choice voting. 

‘‘PART 3—GENERAL PROVISIONS

‘‘Sec. 341. Treatment of States not holding primary elections prior to date 

of general election. 

‘‘Sec. 342. Application to District of Columbia and territories. 


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1 SEC. 102. APPLICABILITY OF ENFORCEMENT PROVISIONS 

2 OF HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002. 

3 Section 401 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

4 (52 U.S.C. 21111) is amended by striking ‘‘sections 301, 

5 302, and 303’’ and inserting ‘‘title III’’. 

6 SEC. 103. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

7 This title and the amendments made by this title 

8 shall apply with respect to— 

9 (1) elections for the office of Senator which are 

10 held during 2026 or any succeeding year; and 

11 (2) elections for the office of Representative 

12 which are held pursuant to the reapportionment of 

13 Representatives resulting from the regular decennial 

14 census conducted during 2030 and all subsequent 

15 elections. 

16 TITLE II—MULTI-MEMBER 

17 DISTRICTS 

18 SEC. 201. REQUIRING USE OF MULTI-MEMBER DISTRICTS 

19 IN CERTAIN STATES. 

20 (a) RULES FOR STATES WITH SIX OR MORE REP21 RESENTATIVES.—Except as provided in section 202(b), if 

22 a State is entitled to six or more Representatives in Con23 gress under an apportionment made under section 22(a) 

24 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the fifteenth 

25 and subsequent decennial censuses and to provide for an 

26 apportionment of Representatives in Congress’’, approved 


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1 June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a(a)), the State shall establish 

2 a number of districts for the election of Representatives 

3 in the State that is less than the number of Representa4 tives to which the State is entitled, and Representatives 

5 shall be elected only from districts so established. 

6 (b) CRITERIA FOR NUMBER OF DISTRICTS.—In es7 tablishing the number of districts for the State under sub8 section (a), the State shall follow the following criteria: 

9 (1) The State shall ensure that districts shall 

10 each have equal population per Representative as 

11 nearly as practicable, in accordance with the Con12 stitution of the United States. 

13 (2) The number of Representatives to be elected 

14 from any district may not be fewer than three or 

15 greater than five. 

16 SEC. 202. ELECTION OF REPRESENTATIVES AT LARGE IN 

17 CERTAIN STATES. 

18 (a) MANDATORY ELECTIONS AT LARGE.—If a State 

19 is entitled to five or fewer Representatives in Congress 

20 under an apportionment made under section 22(a) of the 

21 Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the fifteenth and sub22 sequent decennial censuses and to provide for an appor23 tionment of Representatives in Congress’’, approved June 

24 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a(a)), the State shall elect all such 

25 Representatives at large. 


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1 (b) OPTIONAL ELECTIONS AT LARGE.—If a State is 

2 entitled to six or seven Representatives in Congress under 

3 an apportionment made under section 22(a) of the Act 

4 entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the fifteenth and subse5 quent decennial censuses and to provide for an apportion6 ment of Representatives in Congress’’, approved June 18, 

7 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a(a)), the State may, at its option, elect 

8 all such Representatives at large. 

9 SEC. 203. ESTABLISHING MINIMUM NUMBER OF CAN10 DIDATES IN GENERAL ELECTION. 

11 (a) STATES WITH PARTISAN NOMINATING PRI12 MARIES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—If, in a primary election for 

14 the office of Representative, the candidates that ad15 vance to the general election do so by winning the 

16 nomination of a political party (without regard to 

17 whether or not the election is open or closed to vot18 ers on the basis of political party preference), the 

19 State shall ensure that the number of candidates to 

20 be nominated by each political party is equal to the 

21 lesser of— 

22 (A) the number of Representatives who 

23 will be elected from the district involved; or 

24 (B) the number of candidates in the pri25 mary election. 


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1 (2) AUTHORITY OF POLITICAL PARTIES TO DE2 TERMINE NUMBER OF CANDIDATES ADVANCING IN

3 MULTI-SEAT ELECTIONS.—Notwithstanding para4 graph (1), in the case of a primary election de5 scribed in such paragraph which is a multi-seat pri6 mary election, a State may permit a political party 

7 to adopt a rule that provides for such number of 

8 nominees of that political party to advance to the 

9 general election as the party considers appropriate. 

10 (3) MULTI-SEAT PRIMARY ELECTION DE11 FINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘multi-seat 

12 primary election’’ means a primary election held to 

13 select the candidates for a general election in which 

14 more than one Representative shall be elected. 

15 (b) STATES WITH NONPARTISAN BLANKET PRI16 MARIES.— 

17 (1) NUMBER OF CANDIDATES.—If a State uses 

18 a nonpartisan blanket primary election to determine 

19 which candidates will advance to the general election 

20 for the office of Representative, the State shall en21 sure that the number of candidates who advance to 

22 the general election for the office is not less than the 

23 greater of— 

24 (A) five; 


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1 (B) twice the number of Representatives 

2 who will be elected from the district involved; or 

3 (C) such greater number as the State may 

4 establish by law. 

5 (2) NONPARTISAN BLANKET PRIMARY ELEC6 TION DEFINED.—In this subsection, a ‘‘nonpartisan 

7 blanket primary election’’ is a primary election for 

8 the office of Representative conducted prior to the 

9 date established under section 25 of the Revised 

10 Statutes of the United States (2 U.S.C. 7) for the 

11 regularly scheduled general election for such office, 

12 under which— 

13 (A) each candidate for such office, regard14 less of the candidate’s political party preference 

15 or lack thereof, shall appear on a single ballot; 

16 (B) each voter in the State who is eligible 

17 to vote in elections for Federal office in the dis18 trict involved may cast a ballot in the election, 

19 regardless of the voter’s political party pref20 erence or lack thereof; and 

21 (C) the identification and number of can22 didates who advance to the general election for 

23 the office is determined without regard to the 

24 candidates’ political party preferences or lack 

25 thereof. 


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1 (c) EXCEPTION FOR STATES NOT HOLDING PRIMARY

2 ELECTIONS PRIOR TO DATE OF REGULARLY SCHEDULED

3 GENERAL ELECTION.—In the case of a State that does 

4 not hold primary elections for the office of Representative 

5 prior to the date established under section 25 of the Re6 vised Statutes of the United States (2 U.S.C. 7) for the 

7 regularly scheduled general election for such offices, all 

8 seats shall be elected at the election taking place on such 

9 date. 

10 SEC. 204. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

11 (a) ELECTION OF REPRESENTATIVES PRIOR TO RE12 APPORTIONMENT.—Section 22(c) of the Act entitled ‘‘An 

13 Act to provide for the fifteenth and subsequent decennial 

14 censuses and to provide for an apportionment of Rep15 resentatives in Congress’’, approved June 18, 1929 (2 

16 U.S.C. 2a(c)), is amended by striking ‘‘Until a State’’ and 

17 inserting ‘‘Except as provided in title II of the Fair Rep18 resentation Act, until a State’’. 

19 (b) NUMBER OF REPRESENTATIVES.—Section 22(b) 

20 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for apportioning 

21 Representatives in Congress among the several States by 

22 the equal proportions method’’, approved November 15, 

23 1941 (2 U.S.C. 2b), is amended by striking ‘‘Each State’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in title II of the Fair 

25 Representation Act, each State’’. 


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1 (c) NUMBER OF REPRESENTATIVES FROM EACH

2 DISTRICT.—The Act entitled ‘‘An Act for the relief of 

3 Doctor Ricardo Vallejo Samala and to provide for congres4 sional redistricting’’, approved December 14, 1967 (2 

5 U.S.C. 2c), is amended by striking ‘‘In each State’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘Except as provided in title II of the Fair Rep7 resentation Act, in each State’’. 

8 (d) NOMINATION FOR REPRESENTATIVES AT

9 LARGE.—Section 5 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act For the 

10 apportionment of Representatives in Congress among the 

11 several States under the Thirteenth Census’’, approved 

12 August 8, 1911 (2 U.S.C. 5), is amended by striking 

13 ‘‘Candidates for Representative’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as 

14 provided in title II of the Fair Representation Act, can15 didates for Representative’’. 

16 SEC. 205. PROHIBITION ON WINNER-TAKE-ALL ELECTIONS. 

17 If, for any reason, a State cannot use ranked choice 

18 voting under subtitle C of title III of the Help America 

19 Vote Act of 2002, as added by section 101, then in any 

20 election held at large or in a multi-winner district in which 

21 more than one Representative will be elected, all Rep22 resentatives shall be elected using an election method that 

23 ensures the election of any candidate or any party or slate 

24 of candidates who earns a number of votes equal to or 

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1 vided by the sum of one plus the number of seats to be 

2 filled, then increased by one, disregarding any fractions.. 

3 SEC. 206. EXCEPTION FOR STATES IN WHICH USE OF 

4 MULTI-MEMBER OR AT LARGE DISTRICTS 

5 WILL RESULT IN DIMINISHMENT OF VOTING 

6 RIGHTS. 

7 (a) EXCEPTION.—If, in an action brought under sec8 tion 306, the court determines that the use of multi-mem9 ber or at large districts by a State, as set forth in the 

10 congressional redistricting plan of a State with respect to 

11 the apportionment of Representatives resulting from a de12 cennial census, indicates that the redistricting plan will 

13 deny or abridge the right to vote by having the effect of 

14 diminishing the ability of any citizens of the United States 

15 on account of race or color, or in contravention of the 

16 guarantees set forth in section 4(f)(2) of the Voting 

17 Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10303(f)(2)), to elect their 

18 preferred candidates of choice— 

19 (1) this title shall not apply with respect to any 

20 election held in the State which is based on the ap21 portionment of Representatives to which such redis22 tricting plan would apply; and 

23 (2) subject to section 306(c), the court shall de24 velop and publish a redistricting plan for the State 

25 which meets the requirements of title III and under 


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1 which there are no multi-member districts in the 

2 State. 

3 (b) NO EFFECT ON OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—Noth4 ing in this section shall be construed to waive the applica5 tion of any of the other titles of this Act or the amend6 ments made by any of the other titles of this Act to a 

7 State for which there are no multi-member districts as a 

8 result of this section, including the requirement to use 

9 ranked choice voting as set forth in title I or the require10 ment that the congressional redistricting plan of a State 

11 meet the requirements of title III. 

12 SEC. 207. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

13 This title and the amendments made by this title 

14 shall apply with respect to the One Hundred Twenty15 Third Congress and each subsequent Congress. 

16 TITLE III—NONPARTISAN 

17 REDISTRICTING REFORM 

18 SEC. 301. REQUIRING CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING 

19 PLANS TO COMPLY WITH NONPARTISAN CRI20 TERIA. 

21 A State may not use a congressional redistricting 

22 plan enacted if such plan is not in compliance with section 

23 303. 


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1 SEC. 302. BAN ON MID-DECADE REDISTRICTING. 

2 A State that has been redistricted in accordance with 

3 this title may not be redistricted again until after the next 

4 apportionment of Representatives under section 22(a) of 

5 the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the fifteenth and 

6 subsequent decennial censuses and to provide for an ap7 portionment of Representatives in Congress’’, approved 

8 June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a), unless a court requires the 

9 State to conduct such subsequent redistricting to comply 

10 with the Constitution of the United States, the Voting 

11 Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.), or the 

12 terms or conditions of this title. 

13 SEC. 303. CRITERIA FOR REDISTRICTING. 

14 (a) RANKED CRITERIA.—The redistricting plan of a 

15 State shall be developed in accordance with the following 

16 criteria, as set forth in the following order of priority: 

17 (1) Districts shall comply with the Constitution 

18 of the United States, including the requirement that 

19 they substantially equalize total population, without 

20 regard to age, citizenship status, or immigration sta21 tus. 

22 (2) Districts shall comply with the Voting 

23 Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.), and 

24 all applicable Federal laws. 

25 (3)(A) Districts shall be drawn, to the extent 

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1 sure the practical ability of a group protected under 

2 the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et 

3 seq.), whether alone or in coalition with others, to 

4 participate in the political process and to nominate 

5 candidates and to elect representatives of choice is 

6 not diluted or diminished. 

7 (B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the as8 sessment of whether a protected group has the prac9 tical ability to nominate candidates and to elect rep10 resentatives of choice shall require the consideration 

11 of the following factors: 

12 (i) Whether the group is politically cohe13 sive. 

14 (ii) Whether there is racially polarized vot15 ing in the relevant geographic region. 

16 (iii) If there is racially polarized voting in 

17 the relevant geographic region, whether the pre18 ferred candidates of the group nevertheless re19 ceive a sufficient amount of consistent crossover 

20 support from other voters such that the group 

21 has a real opportunity to both nominate can22 didates and elect representatives of choice. 

23 (4) To the extent practicable, districts shall re24 flect the diversity of political opinion in the State 

25 such that no district in the State— 


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1 (A) elects exactly 3 Representatives and 

2 the nominee of one political party for President 

3 received at least 75 percent of the votes cast in 

4 the geographic area covered by the district in 2 

5 of the 3 most recent Presidential elections; 

6 (B) elects exactly 4 Representatives and 

7 the nominee of one political party for President 

8 received at least 80 percent of the votes cast in 

9 the geographic area covered by the district in 2 

10 of the 3 most recent Presidential elections; or 

11 (C) elects exactly 5 Representatives and 

12 the nominee of one political party for President 

13 received at least 83 percent of the votes cast in 

14 the geographic area covered by the district in 2 

15 of the 3 most recent Presidential elections. 

16 (5) To the greatest extent practicable the State 

17 shall minimize the number of districts electing 4 

18 Representatives. 

19 (6) To the greatest extent practicable the State 

20 shall maximize the number of districts electing 5 

21 Representatives. 

22 (7)(A) Districts shall be drawn to represent 

23 communities of interest and neighborhoods to the 

24 extent practicable after compliance with the require25 ments of paragraphs (1) through (6). A community 


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1 of interest is defined as an area for which the record 

2 before the entity responsible for developing and 

3 adopting the redistricting plan demonstrates the ex4 istence of broadly shared interests and representa5 tional needs, including shared interests and rep6 resentational needs rooted in common ethnic, racial, 

7 economic, Indian, social, cultural, geographic, or his8 toric identities, or arising from similar socioeconomic 

9 conditions. The term communities of interest may, if 

10 the record warrants, include political subdivisions 

11 such as counties, municipalities, Indian lands, or 

12 school districts, but shall not include common rela13 tionships with political parties or political can14 didates. 

15 (B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), in con16 sidering the needs of multiple, overlapping commu17 nities of interest, the entity responsible for devel18 oping and adopting the redistricting plan shall give 

19 greater weight to those communities of interest 

20 whose representational needs would most benefit 

21 from the community’s inclusion in a single congres22 sional district. 

23 (b) NO FAVORING OR DISFAVORING OF POLITICAL

24 PARTIES.— 


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1 (1) PROHIBITION.—A State may not use a re2 districting plan to conduct an election if the plan’s 

3 congressional districts, when considered cumulatively 

4 on a statewide basis, have been drawn with the in5 tent or have the effect of materially favoring or 

6 disfavoring any political party. 

7 (2) DETERMINATION OF EFFECT.—The deter8 mination of whether a redistricting plan has the ef9 fect of materially favoring or disfavoring a political 

10 party shall be based on an evaluation of the totality 

11 of circumstances which, at a minimum, shall involve 

12 consideration of each of the following factors: 

13 (A) Computer modeling based on relevant 

14 statewide general elections for Federal office 

15 held over the 8 years preceding the adoption of 

16 the redistricting plan setting forth the probable 

17 electoral outcomes for the plan under a range 

18 of reasonably foreseeable conditions. 

19 (B) An analysis of whether the redis20 tricting plan is statistically likely to result in 

21 partisan advantage or disadvantage on a state22 wide basis, the degree of any such advantage or 

23 disadvantage, and whether such advantage or 

24 disadvantage is likely to be present under a 


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1 range of reasonably foreseeable electoral condi2 tions. 

3 (C) A comparison of the modeled electoral 

4 outcomes for the redistricting plan to the mod5 eled electoral outcomes for alternative plans 

6 that demonstrably comply with the require7 ments of paragraphs (1) through (6) of sub8 section (a) in order to determine whether rea9 sonable alternatives exist that would result in 

10 materially lower levels of partisan advantage or 

11 disadvantage on a statewide basis. For purposes 

12 of this subparagraph, alternative plans consid13 ered may include both actual plans proposed 

14 during the redistricting process and other plans 

15 prepared for purposes of comparison. 

16 (D) Any other relevant information, includ17 ing how broad support for the redistricting plan 

18 was among members of the entity responsible 

19 for developing and adopting the plan and 

20 whether the processes leading to the develop21 ment and adoption of the plan were transparent 

22 and equally open to all members of the entity 

23 and to the public. 

24 (3) DETERMINATION OF INTENT.—A court may 

25 rely on all available evidence when determining 


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1 whether a redistricting plan was drawn with the in2 tent to materially favor or disfavor a political party, 

3 including evidence of the partisan effects of a plan, 

4 the degree of support the plan received from mem5 bers of the entity responsible for developing and 

6 adopting the plan, and whether the processes leading 

7 to development and adoption of the plan were trans8 parent and equally open to all members of the entity 

9 and to the public. 

10 (4) NO VIOLATION BASED ON CERTAIN CRI11 TERIA.—No redistricting plan shall be found to be 

12 in violation of paragraph (1) because of the proper 

13 application of the criteria set forth in paragraphs (1) 

14 through (6) of subsection (a), unless one or more al15 ternative plans could have complied with such para16 graphs without having the effect of materially favor17 ing or disfavoring a political party. 

18 (c) FACTORS PROHIBITED FROM CONSIDERATION.— 

19 In developing the redistricting plan for the State, the 

20 State may not take into consideration any of the following 

21 factors, except as necessary to comply with the criteria 

22 described in paragraphs (1) through (6) of subsection (a), 

23 to achieve partisan fairness and comply with subsection 

24 (b), and to enable the redistricting plan to be measured 

25 against the external metrics described in section 304(c): 


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1 (1) The residence of any Member of the House 

2 of Representatives, candidate, or any other indi3 vidual who is eligible to serve as a Member of the 

4 House of Representatives from the State. 

5 (2) The political party affiliation or voting his6 tory of the population of a district. 

7 (d) ADDITIONAL CRITERIA.—A State may not rely 

8 upon criteria, districting principles, or other policies of the 

9 State which are not set forth in this section to justify non10 compliance with the requirements of this section. 

11 (e) APPLICABILITY.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—This section applies to any 

13 authority, whether appointed, elected, judicial, or 

14 otherwise, responsible for enacting the congressional 

15 redistricting plan of a State. 

16 (2) DATE OF ENACTMENT.—This section ap17 plies to any congressional redistricting plan enacted 

18 following the regular decennial census conducted 

19 during 2030. 

20 (f) SEVERABILITY OF CRITERIA.—If any provision of 

21 this section, or the application of any such provision to 

22 any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, 

23 the remainder of this section, and the application of such 

24 provision to any other person or circumstance, shall not 

25 be affected by the holding. 


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1 SEC. 304. DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN. 

2 (a) PUBLIC NOTICE AND INPUT.— 

3 (1) USE OF OPEN AND TRANSPARENT PROC4 ESS.—The entity responsible for developing and 

5 adopting the congressional redistricting plan of a 

6 State shall solicit and take into consideration com7 ments from the public throughout the process of de8 veloping the plan, and shall carry out its duties in 

9 an open and transparent manner which provides for 

10 the widest public dissemination reasonably possible 

11 of its proposed and final redistricting plans. 

12 (2) WEBSITE.— 

13 (A) FEATURES.—The entity shall maintain 

14 a public internet site which is not affiliated with 

15 or maintained by the office of any elected offi16 cial and which includes the following features: 

17 (i) All proposed redistricting plans 

18 and the final redistricting plan, including 

19 the accompanying written evaluation under 

20 subsection (c). 

21 (ii) All comments received from the 

22 public submitted under paragraph (1). 

23 (iii) Access in an easily usable format 

24 to the demographic and other data used by 

25 the entity to develop and analyze the pro26 posed redistricting plans, together with any 


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1 reports analyzing and evaluating such 

2 plans and access to software that members 

3 of the public may use to draw maps of pro4 posed districts. 

5 (iv) A method by which members of 

6 the public may submit comments directly 

7 to the entity. 

8 (B) SEARCHABLE FORMAT.—The entity 

9 shall ensure that all information posted and 

10 maintained on the site under this paragraph, 

11 including information and proposed maps sub12 mitted by the public, shall be maintained in an 

13 easily searchable format. 

14 (3) MULTIPLE LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS FOR

15 ALL NOTICES.—The entity responsible for developing 

16 and adopting the plan shall make each notice which 

17 is required to be posted and published under this 

18 section available in any language in which the State 

19 (or any jurisdiction in the State) is required to pro20 vide election materials under section 203 of the Vot21 ing Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10503). 

22 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.— 

23 (1) HEARINGS.—The entity responsible for de24 veloping and adopting the congressional redistricting 

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1 ing proposed plans in order to solicit public input on 

2 the content of such plans. These hearings shall— 

3 (A) be held in different regions of the 

4 State and streamed live on the public internet 

5 site maintained under subsection (a)(2); 

6 (B) be sufficient in number, scheduled at 

7 times and places, and noticed and conducted in 

8 a manner to ensure that all members of the 

9 public, including members of racial, ethnic, and 

10 language minorities protected under the Voting 

11 Rights Act of 1965, have a meaningful oppor12 tunity to attend and provide input both before 

13 and after the entity releases proposed plans. 

14 (2) POSTING OF MAPS.—The entity responsible 

15 for developing and adopting the congressional redis16 tricting plan shall make proposed plans, amend17 ments to proposed plans, and the data needed to 

18 analyze such plans for compliance with the criteria 

19 of this title available for public review, including on 

20 the public internet site required under subsection 

21 (a)(2), for a period of not less than 5 days before 

22 any vote or hearing is held on any such plan or any 

23 amendment to such a plan. 

24 (c) RELEASE OF WRITTEN EVALUATION OF PLAN

25 AGAINST EXTERNAL METRICS REQUIRED PRIOR TO


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1 VOTE.—The entity responsible for developing and adopt2 ing the congressional redistricting plan for a State may 

3 not hold a vote on a proposed redistricting plan, including 

4 a vote in a committee, unless at least 48 hours prior to 

5 holding the vote the State has released a written evalua6 tion that measures each such plan against external metrics 

7 which cover the criteria set forth in section 303(b), includ8 ing the impact of the plan on the ability of members of 

9 a class of citizens protected by the Voting Rights Act of 

10 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.) to elect candidates of 

11 choice, the degree to which the plan preserves or divides 

12 communities of interest, and any analysis used by the 

13 State to assess compliance with the requirements of sec14 tion 303(a) and (b). 

15 (d) PUBLIC INPUT AND COMMENTS.—The entity re16 sponsible for developing and adopting the congressional 

17 redistricting plan for a State shall make all public com18 ments received about potential plans, including alternative 

19 plans, available to the public on the internet site required 

20 under subsection (a)(2), at no cost, not later than 24 

21 hours prior to holding a vote on final adoption of a plan. 

22 SEC. 305. FAILURE BY STATE TO ENACT PLAN. 

23 (a) DEADLINE FOR ENACTMENT OF PLAN.—Except 

24 as provided in paragraph (2), each State shall enact a 

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1 mission of a notice of apportionment to the President by 

2 the earliest of— 

3 (1) the deadline set forth in State law, includ4 ing any extension to the deadline provided in accord5 ance with State law; 

6 (2) February 15 of the year in which regularly 

7 scheduled general elections for Federal office are 

8 held in the State; or 

9 (3) 90 days before the date of the next regu10 larly scheduled primary election for Federal office 

11 held in the State. 

12 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN BY COURT IN CASE OF

13 MISSED DEADLINE.—If a State has not enacted a final 

14 congressional redistricting plan by the applicable deadline 

15 under subsection (a), or it appears reasonably likely that 

16 a State will fail to enact a final congressional redistricting 

17 plan by such deadline— 

18 (1) any citizen of the State may file an action 

19 in the United States district court for the applicable 

20 venue asking the district court to assume jurisdic21 tion; 

22 (2) the United States district court for the ap23 plicable venue, acting through a 3-judge court con24 vened pursuant to section 2284 of title 28, United 

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1 velop and publish the congressional redistricting 

2 plan for the State; and 

3 (3) the final congressional redistricting plan de4 veloped and published by the court under this sec5 tion shall be deemed to be enacted on the date on 

6 which the court publishes the final congressional re7 districting plan, as described in subsection (e). 

8 (c) APPLICABLE VENUE.—For purposes of this sec9 tion, the ‘‘applicable venue’’ with respect to a State is the 

10 District of Columbia or the judicial district in which the 

11 Capital of the State is located, as selected by the first 

12 party to file with the court sufficient evidence that a State 

13 has failed to, or is reasonably likely to fail to, enact a final 

14 redistricting plan for the State prior to the expiration of 

15 the applicable deadline set forth in subsection (a). 

16 (d) PROCEDURES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.— 

17 (1) CRITERIA.—In developing a redistricting 

18 plan for a State under this section, the court shall 

19 adhere to the same terms and conditions that ap20 plied (or that would have applied, as the case may 

21 be) to the development of a plan by the State under 

22 section 303. 

23 (2) ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND RECORDS.— 

24 The court shall have access to any information, 

25 data, software, or other records and material that 


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1 was used (or that would have been used, as the case 

2 may be) by the State in carrying out its duties 

3 under this title. 

4 (3) HEARING; PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—In de5 veloping a redistricting plan for a State, the court 

6 shall— 

7 (A) hold one or more evidentiary hearings 

8 at which interested members of the public may 

9 appear and be heard and present testimony, in10 cluding expert testimony, in accordance with 

11 the rules of the court; and 

12 (B) consider other submissions and com13 ments by the public, including proposals for re14 districting plans to cover the entire State or 

15 any portion of the State. 

16 (4) USE OF SPECIAL MASTER.—To assist in the 

17 development and publication of a redistricting plan 

18 for a State under this section, the court shall ap19 point a special master to make recommendations to 

20 the court on possible plans for the State. 

21 (e) PUBLICATION OF PLAN.— 

22 (1) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INITIAL PLAN.— 

23 Upon completing the development of one or more 

24 initial redistricting plans, the court shall make the 

25 plans available to the public at no cost, and shall 


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1 also make available the underlying data used to de2 velop the plans and a written evaluation of the plans 

3 against external metrics (as described in section 

4 304(c)). 

5 (2) PUBLICATION OF FINAL PLAN.—At any 

6 time after the expiration of the 14-day period which 

7 begins on the date the court makes the plans avail8 able to the public under paragraph (1), and taking 

9 into consideration any submissions and comments by 

10 the public which are received during such period, the 

11 court shall develop and publish the final redistricting 

12 plan for the State. 

13 (f) USE OF INTERIM PLAN.—In the event that the 

14 court is not able to develop and publish a final redis15 tricting plan for the State with sufficient time for an up16 coming election to proceed, the court may develop and 

17 publish an interim redistricting plan which shall serve as 

18 the redistricting plan for the State until the court develops 

19 and publishes a final plan in accordance with this section. 

20 Nothing in this subsection may be construed to limit or 

21 otherwise affect the authority or discretion of the court 

22 to develop and publish the final redistricting plan, includ23 ing the discretion to make any changes the court deems 

24 necessary to an interim redistricting plan. 


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1 (g) APPEALS.—Review on appeal of any final or in2 terim plan adopted by the court in accordance with this 

3 section shall be governed by the appellate process in sec4 tion 306. 

5 (h) STAY OF STATE PROCEEDINGS.—The filing of an 

6 action under this section shall act as a stay of any pro7 ceedings in State court with respect to the State’s congres8 sional redistricting plan unless otherwise ordered by the 

9 court. 

10 SEC. 306. CIVIL ENFORCEMENT. 

11 (a) CIVIL ENFORCEMENT.— 

12 (1) ACTIONS BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The At13 torney General may bring a civil action for such re14 lief as may be appropriate to carry out this title. 

15 (2) AVAILABILITY OF PRIVATE RIGHT OF AC16 TION.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any person residing or 

18 domiciled in a State who is aggrieved by the 

19 failure of the State to meet the requirements of 

20 the Constitution or Federal law, including this 

21 title, with respect to the State’s congressional 

22 redistricting, may bring a civil action in the 

23 United States district court for the applicable 

24 venue for such relief as may be appropriate to 

25 remedy the failure. 


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1 (B) SPECIAL RULE FOR CLAIMS RELATING

2 TO PARTISAN ADVANTAGE.—For purposes of 

3 subparagraph (A), a person who is aggrieved by 

4 the failure of a State to meet the requirements 

5 of section 303(b) may include— 

6 (i) any political party or committee in 

7 the State; and 

8 (ii) any registered voter in the State 

9 who resides in a congressional district that 

10 the voter alleges was drawn in a manner 

11 that contributes to a violation of such sec12 tion. 

13 (C) NO AWARDING OF DAMAGES TO PRE14 VAILING PARTY.—Except for an award of attor15 ney’s fees under subsection (d), a court in a 

16 civil action under this section shall not award 

17 the prevailing party any monetary damages, 

18 compensatory, punitive, or otherwise. 

19 (3) DELIVERY OF COMPLAINT TO HOUSE AND

20 SENATE.—In any action brought under this section, 

21 a copy of the complaint shall be delivered promptly 

22 to the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the 

23 Secretary of the Senate. 

24 (4) EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION AND APPLICABLE

25 VENUE.—The district courts of the United States 


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1 shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and deter2 mine claims asserting that a congressional redis3 tricting plan violates the requirements of the Con4 stitution or Federal law, including this title. The ap5 plicable venue for such an action shall be the United 

6 States District Court for the District of Columbia or 

7 for the judicial district in which the Capital of the 

8 State is located, as selected by the person bringing 

9 the action. In a civil action that includes a claim 

10 that a redistricting plan is in violation of subsection 

11 (a) or (b) of section 303, the United States District 

12 Court for the District of Columbia shall have juris13 diction over any defendant who has been served in 

14 any United States judicial district in which the de15 fendant resides, is found, or has an agent, or in the 

16 United States judicial district in which the Capital 

17 of the State is located. Process may be served in any 

18 United States judicial district where a defendant re19 sides, is found, or has an agent, or in the United 

20 States judicial district in which the Capital of the 

21 State is located. 

22 (5) USE OF 3-JUDGE COURT.—If an action 

23 under this section raises statewide claims under the 

24 Constitution or this title, the action shall be heard 


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1 by a 3-judge court convened pursuant to section 

2 2284 of title 28, United States Code. 

3 (6) REVIEW OF FINAL DECISION.—A final deci4 sion in an action brought under this section shall be 

5 reviewable on appeal by the United States Court of 

6 Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which 

7 shall hear the matter sitting en banc. There shall be 

8 no right of appeal in such proceedings to any other 

9 court of appeals. Such appeal shall be taken by the 

10 filing of a notice of appeal within 10 days of the 

11 entry of the final decision. A final decision by the 

12 Court of Appeals may be reviewed by the Supreme 

13 Court of the United States by writ of certiorari. 

14 (b) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION.—In any action 

15 brought under this section, it shall be the duty of the dis16 trict court, the United States Court of Appeals for the 

17 District of Columbia Circuit, and the Supreme Court of 

18 the United States (if it chooses to hear the action) to ad19 vance on the docket and to expedite to the greatest pos20 sible extent the disposition of the action and appeal. 

21 (c) REMEDIES.— 

22 (1) ADOPTION OF REPLACEMENT PLAN.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the district court in 

24 an action under this section finds that the con25 gressional redistricting plan of a State violates, 


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1 in whole or in part, the requirements of this 

2 title— 

3 (i) the court shall adopt a replacement 

4 congressional redistricting plan for the 

5 State in accordance with the process set 

6 forth in section 305; or 

7 (ii) if circumstances warrant and no 

8 delay to an upcoming regularly scheduled 

9 election for the House of Representatives 

10 in the State would result, the district 

11 court, in its discretion, may allow a State 

12 to develop and propose a remedial congres13 sional redistricting plan for review by the 

14 court to determine whether the plan is in 

15 compliance with this title, except that— 

16 (I) the State may not develop 

17 and propose a remedial plan under 

18 this clause if the court determines 

19 that the congressional redistricting 

20 plan of the State was enacted with 

21 discriminatory intent in violation of 

22 the Constitution or section 303(b); 

23 and 

24 (II) nothing in this clause may be 

25 construed to permit a State to use 


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1 such a remedial plan which has not 

2 been approved by the court. 

3 (B) PROHIBITING USE OF PLANS IN VIOLA4 TION OF REQUIREMENTS.—No court shall order 

5 a State to use a congressional redistricting plan 

6 which violates, in whole or in part, the require7 ments of this title, or to conduct an election 

8 under terms and conditions which violate, in 

9 whole or in part, the requirements of this title. 

10 (C) SPECIAL RULE IN CASE FINAL ADJU11 DICATION NOT EXPECTED WITHIN 3 MONTHS

12 OF ELECTION.— 

13 (i) DUTY OF COURT.—If final adju14 dication of an action under this section is 

15 not reasonably expected to be completed at 

16 least 3 months prior to the next regularly 

17 scheduled primary election for the House 

18 of Representatives in the State, the district 

19 court shall— 

20 (I) develop, adopt, and order the 

21 use of an interim congressional redis22 tricting plan in accordance with sec23 tion 305(f) to address any claims 

24 under this title for which a party 


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1 seeking relief has demonstrated a sub2 stantial likelihood of success; or 

3 (II) order adjustments to the 

4 timing of primary elections for the 

5 House of Representatives and other 

6 related deadlines, as needed, to allow 

7 sufficient opportunity for adjudication 

8 of the matter and adoption of a reme9 dial or replacement plan for use in the 

10 next regularly scheduled general elec11 tions for the House of Representa12 tives. 

13 (ii) PROHIBITING FAILURE TO ACT ON

14 GROUNDS OF PENDENCY OF ELECTION.— 

15 The court may not refuse to take any ac16 tion described in clause (i) on the grounds 

17 of the pendency of the next election held in 

18 the State or the potential for disruption, 

19 confusion, or additional burdens with re20 spect to the administration of the election 

21 in the State. 

22 (2) NO STAY PENDING APPEAL.—Notwith23 standing the appeal of an order finding that a con24 gressional redistricting plan of a State violates, in 

25 whole or in part, the requirements of this title, no 


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1 stay shall issue which shall bar the development or 

2 adoption of a replacement or remedial plan under 

3 this subsection, as may be directed by the district 

4 court, pending such appeal. If such a replacement or 

5 remedial plan has been adopted, no appellate court 

6 may stay or otherwise enjoin the use of such plan 

7 during the pendency of an appeal, except upon an 

8 order holding, based on the record, that adoption of 

9 such plan was an abuse of discretion. 

10 (3) SPECIAL AUTHORITY OF COURT OF AP11 PEALS.— 

12 (A) ORDERING OF NEW REMEDIAL

13 PLAN.—If, upon consideration of an appeal 

14 under this title, the Court of Appeals deter15 mines that a plan does not comply with the re16 quirements of this title, it shall direct that the 

17 District Court promptly develop a new remedial 

18 plan with assistance of a special master for con19 sideration by the Court of Appeals. 

20 (B) FAILURE OF DISTRICT COURT TO

21 TAKE TIMELY ACTION.—If, at any point during 

22 the pendency of an action under this section, 

23 the District Court fails to take action necessary 

24 to permit resolution of the case prior to the 

25 next regularly scheduled election for the House 


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1 of Representatives in the State or fails to grant 

2 the relief described in paragraph (1)(C), any 

3 party may seek a writ of mandamus from the 

4 Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia 

5 Circuit. The Court of Appeals shall have juris6 diction over the motion for a writ of mandamus 

7 and shall establish an expedited briefing and 

8 hearing schedule for resolution of the motion. If 

9 the Court of Appeals determines that a writ 

10 should be granted, the Court of Appeals shall 

11 take any action necessary, including developing 

12 a congressional redistricting plan with assist13 ance of a special master to ensure that a reme14 dial plan is adopted in time for use in the next 

15 regularly scheduled election for the House of 

16 Representatives in the State. 

17 (4) EFFECT OF ENACTMENT OF REPLACEMENT

18 PLAN.—A State’s enactment of a redistricting plan 

19 which replaces a plan which is the subject of an ac20 tion under this section shall not be construed to 

21 limit or otherwise affect the authority of the court 

22 to adjudicate or grant relief with respect to any 

23 claims or issues not addressed by the replacement 

24 plan, including claims that the plan which is the 

25 subject of the action was enacted, in whole or in 


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1 part, with discriminatory intent, or claims to con2 sider whether relief should be granted under section 

3 3(c) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 

4 10302(c)) based on the plan which is the subject of 

5 the action. 

6 (d) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—In a civil action under this 

7 section, the court may allow the prevailing party (other 

8 than the United States) reasonable attorney fees, includ9 ing litigation expenses, and costs. 

10 (e) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.— 

11 (1) RIGHTS AND REMEDIES ADDITIONAL TO

12 OTHER RIGHTS AND REMEDIES.—The rights and 

13 remedies established by this section are in addition 

14 to all other rights and remedies provided by law, and 

15 neither the rights and remedies established by this 

16 section nor any other provision of this title shall su17 persede, restrict, or limit the application of the Vot18 ing Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.). 

19 (2) VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965.—Nothing in 

20 this title authorizes or requires conduct that is pro21 hibited by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 

22 10301 et seq.). 

23 (f) LEGISLATIVE PRIVILEGE.—No person, legisla24 ture, or State may claim legislative privilege under either 

25 State or Federal law in a civil action brought under this 


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1 section or in any other legal challenge, under either State 

2 or Federal law, to a redistricting plan enacted under this 

3 title. 

4 (g) REMOVAL.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—At any time, a civil action 

6 brought in a State court which asserts a claim for 

7 which the district courts of the United States have 

8 exclusive jurisdiction under this title may be re9 moved by any party in the case, including an inter10 venor, by filing, in the district court for an applica11 ble venue under this section, a notice of removal 

12 signed pursuant to Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of 

13 Civil Procedure containing a short and plain state14 ment of the grounds for removal. Consent of parties 

15 shall not be required for removal. 

16 (2) CLAIMS NOT WITHIN THE ORIGINAL OR

17 SUPPLEMENTAL JURISDICTION.—If a civil action re18 moved in accordance with paragraph (1) contains 

19 claims not within the original or supplemental juris20 diction of the district court, the district court shall 

21 sever all such claims and remand them to the State 

22 court from which the action was removed. 

23 SEC. 307. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

24 This title and the amendments made by such title 

25 shall apply with respect to redistricting carried out pursuVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:02 Apr 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7740.IH H7740

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1 ant to the decennial census conducted during 2030 or any 

2 succeeding decennial census. 

3 TITLE IV—GENERAL 

4 PROVISIONS 

5 SEC. 401. NO EFFECT ON ELECTIONS FOR STATE AND 

6 LOCAL OFFICE. 

7 Nothing in this Act or in any amendment made by 

8 this Act may be construed to affect the manner in which 

9 a State carries out elections for State or local office, in10 cluding the process by which a State establishes the dis11 tricts used in such elections. 

12 SEC. 402. SEVERABILITY. 

13 If any provision of this Act or any amendment made 

14 by this Act, or the application of a provision of this Act 

15 or an amendment made by this Act to any person or cir16 cumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder 

17 of this Act, and the application of the provisions to any 

18 person or circumstance, shall not be affected by the hold19 ing. 

Æ 


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