I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 14 

To amend the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to revise the criteria for determining 

which States and political subdivisions are subject to section 4 of the 

Act, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2023 

Ms. SEWELL (for herself, Mr. JEFFRIES, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. 

AGUILAR, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. HORSFORD, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Ms. CHU, Mr. 

NADLER, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Ms. 

ADAMS, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Mr. 

BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. JOHNSON

of Georgia, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. 

CARSON, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Ms. 

WATERS, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. LIEU, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. 

MEEKS, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. 

PAYNE, Mr. POCAN, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. 

TAKANO, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. TONKO, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. 

VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. 

WILSON of Florida, Mr. ALLRED, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Ms. BALINT, Mr. 

BERA, Mr. BEYER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. 

BOWMAN, Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. BROWN, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms. 

BUDZINSKI, Ms. BUSH, Ms. CARAVEO, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. CARTER of 

Louisiana, Mr. CASAR, Mr. CASE, Mr. CASTEN, Mrs. CHERFILUSMCCORMICK, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. CORREA, 

Mr. COSTA, Mr. COURTNEY, Ms. CRAIG, Ms. CROCKETT, Mr. CROW, Mr. 

CUELLAR, Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. DAVIS of 

North Carolina, Ms. DEAN of Pennsylvania, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. 

DELAURO, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. DELUZIO, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. DOGGETT, Ms. ESCOBAR, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. EVANS, Mrs. 

FLETCHER, Mrs. FOUSHEE, Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida, Mr. FROST, 

Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. ROBERT GARCIA of California, Ms. GARCIA of 

Texas, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. GOLDEN of Maine, Mr. GOLDMAN of 

New York, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. VICENTE GONZALEZ of Texas, Mr. 

GOTTHEIMER, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. HOYER, Ms. HOYLE of 

Oregon, Mr. IVEY, Mr. JACKSON of North Carolina, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. JACOBS, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, Ms. KAPTUR, 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•HR 14 IH

Mr. KEATING, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. KILMER, Mr. KIM

of New Jersey, Ms. KUSTER, Mr. LANDSMAN, Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania, 

Ms. LEE of Nevada, Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ, Mr. LEVIN, Ms. LOFGREN, 

Mr. LYNCH, Mr. MAGAZINER, Ms. MANNING, Mrs. MCBATH, Ms. 

MCCLELLAN, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCGARVEY, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. 

MENG, Mr. MFUME, Mr. MOSKOWITZ, Mr. MRVAN, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. 

HARDER of California, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. 

KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. NEAL, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. 

NICKEL, Mr. NORCROSS, Ms. OMAR, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. 

PASCRELL, Ms. PELOSI, Mrs. PELTOLA, Ms. PEREZ, Mr. PETERS, Ms. 

PETTERSEN, Mr. PHILLIPS, Ms. PINGREE, Ms. PLASKETT, Ms. PORTER, 

Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mrs. RAMIREZ, Ms. ROSS, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. RYAN, Mr. SABLAN, Ms. SALINAS, Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. SCHNEIDER, 

Ms. SCHOLTEN, Ms. SCHRIER, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms. SHERRILL, Ms. SLOTKIN, Mr. SORENSEN, Mr. SOTO, Ms. 

SPANBERGER, Ms. STANSBURY, Mr. STANTON, Ms. STEVENS, Ms. 

STRICKLAND, Mr. SWALWELL, Mrs. SYKES, Mr. THOMPSON of California, 

Ms. TITUS, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. TOKUDA, Mrs. TORRES of California, Mr. 

TORRES of New York, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. TRONE, Ms. UNDERWOOD, Mr. 

VASQUEZ, Ms. WEXTON, Ms. WILD, Mr. HIMES, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. 

MOULTON, Mr. RUIZ, Mr. THANEDAR, and Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to revise the 

criteria for determining which States and political subdivisions are subject to section 4 of the Act, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘John R. Lewis Voting 

5 Rights Advancement Act of 2023’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•HR 14 IH

1 SEC. 2. VOTE DILUTION, DENIAL, AND ABRIDGMENT 

2 CLAIMS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2(a) of the Voting Rights 

4 Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301(a)) is amended— 

5 (1) by inserting after ‘‘applied by any State or 

6 political subdivision’’ the following: ‘‘for the purpose 

7 of, or’’; and 

8 (2) by striking ‘‘as provided in subsection (b)’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘as provided in subsection (b), (c), (d), 

10 or (f)’’. 

11 (b) VOTE DILUTION.—Section 2(b) of such Act (52 

12 U.S.C. 10301(b)) is amended— 

13 (1) by inserting after ‘‘A violation of subsection 

14 (a)’’ the following: ‘‘for vote dilution’’; 

15 (2) by inserting after the period at the end the 

16 following: ‘‘For the purposes of this subsection:’’; 

17 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

18 paragraphs: 

19 ‘‘(1) To prevail in demonstrating that a rep20 resentational, districting, or apportionment scheme 

21 results in vote dilution, a plaintiff shall, as a thresh22 old matter, establish that— 

23 ‘‘(A) the members of the protected class 

24 are sufficiently numerous and geographically 

25 compact to constitute a majority in a single26 member district; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•HR 14 IH

1 ‘‘(B) the members of the protected class 

2 are politically cohesive; and 

3 ‘‘(C) the residents of that district who are 

4 not the members of the protected class usually 

5 vote sufficiently as a bloc to enable them to de6 feat the preferred candidates of the members of 

7 the protected class. 

8 ‘‘(2) Upon a plaintiff establishing the required 

9 threshold showing under paragraph (1), a court shall 

10 conduct a totality of the circumstances analysis with 

11 respect to a claim of vote dilution to determine 

12 whether there was a violation of subsection (a), 

13 which shall include the following factors: 

14 ‘‘(A) The extent of any history of official 

15 voting discrimination in the State or political 

16 subdivision that affected the right of members 

17 of the protected class to register, to vote, or 

18 otherwise to participate in the political process. 

19 ‘‘(B) The extent to which voting in the 

20 elections of the State or political subdivision is 

21 racially polarized. 

22 ‘‘(C) The extent to which the State or po23 litical subdivision has used voting practices or 

24 procedures that tend to enhance the oppor25 tunity for discrimination against the members 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•HR 14 IH

1 of the protected class, such as unusually large 

2 election districts, majority vote requirements, 

3 anti-single shot provisions, or other qualifica4 tions, prerequisites, standards, practices, or 

5 procedures that may enhance the opportunity 

6 for discrimination against the members of the 

7 protected class. 

8 ‘‘(D) If there is a candidate slating proc9 ess, whether the members of the protected class 

10 have been denied access to that process. 

11 ‘‘(E) The extent to which members of the 

12 protected class in the State or political subdivi13 sion bear the effects of discrimination, both 

14 public or private, in such areas as education, 

15 employment, health, housing, and transpor16 tation, which hinder their ability to participate 

17 effectively in the political process. 

18 ‘‘(F) Whether political campaigns have 

19 been characterized by overt or subtle racial ap20 peals. 

21 ‘‘(G) The extent to which members of the 

22 protected class have been elected to public office 

23 in the jurisdiction. 

24 ‘‘(3) In conducting a totality of the cir25 cumstances analysis under paragraph (2), a court 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•HR 14 IH

1 may consider such other factors as the court may 

2 determine to be relevant, including— 

3 ‘‘(A) whether there is a significant lack of 

4 responsiveness on the part of elected officials to 

5 the particularized needs of the members of the 

6 protected class, including a lack of concern for 

7 or responsiveness to the requests and proposals 

8 of the members of the protected class, except 

9 that compliance with a court order may not be 

10 considered evidence of responsiveness on the 

11 part of the jurisdiction; and 

12 ‘‘(B) whether the policy underlying the 

13 State or political subdivision’s use of such vot14 ing qualification, prerequisite to voting, or 

15 standard, practice or procedure is tenuous. 

16 In making this determination, a court shall consider 

17 whether the qualification, prerequisite, standard, 

18 practice, or procedure in question was designed to 

19 advance and materially advances a valid and sub20 stantiated State interest. 

21 ‘‘(4) A class of citizens protected by subsection 

22 (a) may include a cohesive coalition of members of 

23 different racial or language minority groups.’’; and 

24 (4) VOTE DENIAL OR ABRIDGEMENT.—Section 

25 2 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 10301), as amended by 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•HR 14 IH

1 subsections (a) and (b), is further amended by add2 ing at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(c)(1) A violation of subsection (a) resulting in vote 

4 denial or abridgment is established if the challenged quali5 fication, prerequisite, standard, practice, or procedure— 

6 ‘‘(A) results or will result in members of a pro7 tected class facing greater costs or burdens in par8 ticipating in the political process than other voters; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(B) the greater costs or burdens are, at least 

11 in part, caused by or linked to social and historical 

12 conditions that have produced or produce on the 

13 date of such challenge discrimination against mem14 bers of the protected class. 

15 In determining the existence of a burden for pur16 poses of subparagraph (A), the absolute number or 

17 the percent of voters affected or the presence of vot18 ers who are not members of a protected class in the 

19 affected area shall not be dispositive, and the af20 fected area may be smaller than the jurisdiction to 

21 which the qualification, prerequisite, standard, prac22 tice, or procedure applies. 

23 ‘‘(2) The challenged qualification, prerequisite, stand24 ard, practice, or procedure need only be a but-for cause 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
8 

•HR 14 IH

1 of the discriminatory result described in paragraph (1) or 

2 perpetuate a pre-existing burdens or costs. 

3 ‘‘(3)(A) The factors that are relevant to a totality of 

4 the circumstances analysis with respect to a claim of vote 

5 denial or abridgement pursuant to this subsection include 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(i) The extent of any history of official voting8 related discrimination in the State or political sub9 division that affected the right of members of the 

10 protected class to register, to vote, or otherwise to 

11 participate in the political process. 

12 ‘‘(ii) The extent to which voting in the elections 

13 of the State or political subdivision is racially polar14 ized. 

15 ‘‘(iii) The extent to which the State or political 

16 subdivision has used photographic voter identifica17 tion requirements, documentary proof of citizenship 

18 requirements, documentary proof of residence re19 quirements, or other voting practices or procedures, 

20 beyond those required by Federal law, that impair 

21 the ability of members of the minority group to par22 ticipate fully in the political process. 

23 ‘‘(iv) The extent to which minority group mem24 bers bear the effects of discrimination, both public 

25 or private, in areas such as education, employment, 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
9 

•HR 14 IH

1 health, housing, and transportation, which hinder 

2 their ability to participate effectively in the political 

3 process. 

4 ‘‘(v) The use of overt or subtle racial appeals ei5 ther in political campaigns or surrounding adoption 

6 or maintenance of the challenged practice. 

7 ‘‘(vi) The extent to which members of the mi8 nority group have been elected to public office in the 

9 jurisdiction, provided that the fact that the minority 

10 group is too small to elect candidates of its choice 

11 shall not defeat a claim of vote denial or abridgment. 

12 ‘‘(vii) Whether there is a lack of responsiveness 

13 on the part of elected officials to the particularized 

14 needs of minority group members, including a lack 

15 of concern for or responsiveness to the requests and 

16 proposals of the group, except that compliance with 

17 a court order may not be considered evidence of re18 sponsiveness on the part of the jurisdiction. 

19 ‘‘(viii) Whether the policy underlying the State 

20 or political subdivision’s use of the challenged quali21 fication, prerequisite, standard, practice, or proce22 dure is tenuous. In making a determination under 

23 this clause, a court shall consider whether the quali24 fication, prerequisite, standard, practice, or proce25 dure in question was designed to advance and mateVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H14.IH H14

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
10 

•HR 14 IH

1 rially advances a valid and substantiated State inter2 est. 

3 ‘‘(ix) Subject to paragraph (4), such other fac4 tors as the court may determine to be relevant. 

5 ‘‘(B) The factors described in subparagraph (A), indi6 vidually and collectively, shall be considered as a means 

7 of establishing that a voting practice amplifies the effects 

8 of past or present discrimination in violation in subsection 

9 (a). 

10 ‘‘(C) A plaintiff need not show any particular com11 bination or number of factors to establish a violation of 

12 subsection (a). 

13 ‘‘(4) The factors that are relevant to a totality of the 

14 circumstances analysis with respect to a claim of vote de15 nial or abridgement do not include the following: 

16 ‘‘(A) The degree to which the challenged quali17 fication, prerequisite, standard, practice, or proce18 dure has a long pedigree or was in widespread use 

19 at some earlier date. 

20 ‘‘(B) The use of an identical or similar quali21 fication, prerequisite, standard, practice, or proce22 dure in other States or jurisdictions. 

23 ‘‘(C) The availability of other forms of voting 

24 unimpacted by the challenged qualification, pre25 requisite, standard, practice, or procedure to all 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
11 

•HR 14 IH

1 members of the electorate, including members of the 

2 protected class, unless the jurisdiction is simulta3 neously expanding such other practices to eliminate 

4 any disproportionate burden imposed by the chal5 lenged qualification, prerequisite, standard, practice, 

6 or procedure. 

7 ‘‘(D) Unsubstantiated defenses that the quali8 fication, prerequisite, standard, practice, or proce9 dure is necessary to address criminal activity. 

10 ‘‘(d)(1) A violation of subsection (a) for the purpose 

11 of vote denial or abridgement is established if the chal12 lenged qualification, prerequisite, standard, practice, or 

13 procedure is intended, at least in part, to dilute minority 

14 voting strength or to deny or abridge the right of any cit15 izen of the United States to vote on account of race, color, 

16 or in contravention of the guarantees set forth in section 

17 4(f)(2). 

18 ‘‘(2) Discrimination on account of race, color, or in 

19 contravention of the guarantees set forth in section 4(f)(2) 

20 need only be one purpose of a qualification, prerequisite, 

21 standard, practice, or procedure to demonstrate a violation 

22 of subsection (a). 

23 ‘‘(3) A qualification, prerequisite, standard, practice, 

24 or procedure intended to dilute minority voting strength 

25 or to make it more difficult for minority voters to cast 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
12 

•HR 14 IH

1 a ballot that will be counted violates this subsection even 

2 if an additional purpose of the qualification, prerequisite, 

3 standard, practice, or procedure is to benefit a particular 

4 political party or group. 

5 ‘‘(4) The context for the adoption of the challenged 

6 qualification, prerequisite, standard, practice, or proce7 dure, including actions by official decisionmakers before 

8 the challenged qualification, prerequisite, standard, prac9 tice, or procedure, may be relevant to a violation of this 

10 subsection. 

11 ‘‘(5) Claims under this subsection require proof of a 

12 discriminatory impact but do not require proof of a viola13 tion pursuant to subsection (b) or (c). 

14 ‘‘(e) For purposes of this section, the term ‘affected 

15 area’ means any geographic area, in which members of 

16 a protected class are affected by a qualification, pre17 requisite, standard, practice, or procedure allegedly in vio18 lation of this section, within a State (including any Indian 

19 lands).’’. 

20 SEC. 3. RETROGRESSION. 

21 Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 

22 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.), as amended by section 2 of this 

23 Act, is further amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
13 

•HR 14 IH

1 ‘‘(f) A violation of subsection (a) is established when 

2 a State or political subdivision enacts or seeks to admin3 ister any qualification or prerequisite to voting or stand4 ard, practice, or procedure with respect to voting in any 

5 election that has the purpose of or will have the effect 

6 of diminishing the ability of any citizens of the United 

7 States on account of race or color, or in contravention of 

8 the guarantees set forth in section 4(f)(2), to participate 

9 in the electoral process or elect their preferred candidates 

10 of choice. This subsection applies to any action taken on 

11 or after January 1, 2021, by a State or political subdivi12 sion to enact or seek to administer any such qualification 

13 or prerequisite to voting or standard, practice or proce14 dure. 

15 ‘‘(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (f), 

16 final decisions of the United States District Court of the 

17 District of Columbia on applications or petitions by States 

18 or political subdivisions for preclearance under section 5 

19 of any changes in voting prerequisites, standards, prac20 tices, or procedures, supersede the provisions of subsection 

21 (f).’’. 

22 SEC. 4. VIOLATIONS TRIGGERING AUTHORITY OF COURT 

23 TO RETAIN JURISDICTION. 

24 (a) TYPES OF VIOLATIONS.—Section 3(c) of the Vot25 ing Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10302(c)) is amended 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
14 

•HR 14 IH

1 by striking ‘‘violations of the fourteenth or fifteenth 

2 amendment’’ and inserting ‘‘violations of the 14th or 15th 

3 Amendment, violations of this Act, or violations of any 

4 Federal law that prohibits discrimination in voting on the 

5 basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority 

6 group,’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3(a) of 

8 such Act (52 U.S.C. 10302(a)) is amended by striking 

9 ‘‘violations of the fourteenth or fifteenth amendment’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘violations of the 14th or 15th Amendment, vio11 lations of this Act, or violations of any Federal law that 

12 prohibits discrimination in voting on the basis of race, 

13 color, or membership in a language minority group,’’. 

14 SEC. 5. CRITERIA FOR COVERAGE OF STATES AND POLIT15 ICAL SUBDIVISIONS. 

16 (a) DETERMINATION OF STATES AND POLITICAL

17 SUBDIVISIONS SUBJECT TO SECTION 4(a).— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(b) of the Voting 

19 Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10303(b)) is amend20 ed to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF STATES AND POLITICAL

22 SUBDIVISIONS SUBJECT TO REQUIREMENTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) EXISTENCE OF VOTING RIGHTS VIOLA24 TIONS DURING PREVIOUS 25 YEARS.— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
15 

•HR 14 IH

1 ‘‘(A) STATEWIDE APPLICATION.—Sub2 section (a) applies with respect to a State and 

3 all political subdivisions within the State during 

4 a calendar year if— 

5 ‘‘(i) fifteen or more voting rights vio6 lations occurred in the State during the 

7 previous 25 calendar years; 

8 ‘‘(ii) ten or more voting rights viola9 tions occurred in the State during the pre10 vious 25 calendar years, at least one of 

11 which was committed by the State itself 

12 (as opposed to a political subdivision with13 in the State); or 

14 ‘‘(iii) three or more voting rights vio15 lations occurred in the State during the 

16 previous 25 calendar years and the State 

17 itself administers the elections in the State 

18 or political subdivisions in which the voting 

19 rights violations occurred. 

20 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION TO SPECIFIC POLITICAL

21 SUBDIVISIONS.—Subsection (a) applies with re22 spect to a political subdivision as a separate 

23 unit during a calendar year if three or more 

24 voting rights violations occurred in the subdivi25 sion during the previous 25 calendar years. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
16 

•HR 14 IH

1 ‘‘(2) PERIOD OF APPLICATION.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

3 subparagraph (B), if, pursuant to paragraph 

4 (1), subsection (a) applies with respect to a 

5 State or political subdivision during a calendar 

6 year, subsection (a) shall apply with respect to 

7 such State or political subdivision for the pe8 riod— 

9 ‘‘(i) that begins on January 1 of the 

10 year in which subsection (a) applies; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) that ends on the date which is 10 

12 years after the date described in clause (i). 

13 ‘‘(B) NO FURTHER APPLICATION AFTER

14 DECLARATORY JUDGMENT.— 

15 ‘‘(i) STATES.—If a State obtains a de16 claratory judgment under subsection (a), 

17 and the judgment remains in effect, sub18 section (a) shall no longer apply to such 

19 State pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) unless, 

20 after the issuance of the declaratory judg21 ment, paragraph (1)(A) applies to the 

22 State solely on the basis of voting rights 

23 violations occurring after the issuance of 

24 the declaratory judgment. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
17 

•HR 14 IH

1 ‘‘(ii) POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS.—If a 

2 political subdivision obtains a declaratory 

3 judgment under subsection (a), and the 

4 judgment remains in effect, subsection (a) 

5 shall no longer apply to such political sub6 division pursuant to paragraph (1), includ7 ing pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) (relating 

8 to the statewide application of subsection 

9 (a)), unless, after the issuance of the de10 claratory judgment, paragraph (1)(B) ap11 plies to the political subdivision solely on 

12 the basis of voting rights violations occur13 ring after the issuance of the declaratory 

14 judgment. 

15 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION OF VOTING RIGHTS VIO16 LATION.—For purposes of paragraph (1), a voting 

17 rights violation occurred in a State or political sub18 division if any of the following applies: 

19 ‘‘(A) JUDICIAL RELIEF; VIOLATION OF

20 THE 14TH OR 15TH AMENDMENT.—Any final 

21 judgment, or any preliminary, temporary, or de22 claratory relief (that was not reversed on ap23 peal), in which the plaintiff prevailed or a court 

24 of the United States found that the plaintiff 

25 demonstrated a likelihood of success on the 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
18 

•HR 14 IH

1 merits or raised a serious question with regard 

2 to race discrimination, in which any court of 

3 the United States determined that a denial or 

4 abridgement of the right of any citizen of the 

5 United States to vote on account of race, color, 

6 or membership in a language minority group 

7 occurred, or that a voting qualification or pre8 requisite to voting or standard, practice, or pro9 cedure with respect to voting created an undue 

10 burden on the right to vote in connection with 

11 a claim that the law unduly burdened voters of 

12 a particular race, color, or language minority 

13 group, in violation of the 14th or 15th Amend14 ment, anywhere within the State or subdivision. 

15 ‘‘(B) JUDICIAL RELIEF; VIOLATIONS OF

16 THIS ACT.—Any final judgment, or any prelimi17 nary, temporary, or declaratory relief (that was 

18 not reversed on appeal) in which the plaintiff 

19 prevailed or a court of the United States found 

20 that the plaintiff demonstrated a likelihood of 

21 success on the merits or raised a serious ques22 tion with regard to race discrimination, in 

23 which any court of the United States deter24 mined that a voting qualification or prerequisite 

25 to voting or standard, practice, or procedure 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
19 

•HR 14 IH

1 with respect to voting was imposed or applied 

2 or would have been imposed or applied any3 where within the State or subdivision in a man4 ner that resulted or would have resulted in a 

5 denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen 

6 of the United States to vote on account of race, 

7 color, or membership in a language minority 

8 group, in violation of subsection 4(e) or 4(f) or 

9 section 2, 201, or 203 of this Act. 

10 ‘‘(C) FINAL JUDGMENT; DENIAL OF DE11 CLARATORY JUDGMENT.—In a final judgment 

12 (that was not been reversed on appeal), any 

13 court of the United States has denied the re14 quest of the State or subdivision for a declara15 tory judgment under section 3(c) or section 5, 

16 and thereby prevented a voting qualification or 

17 prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, or 

18 procedure with respect to voting from being en19 forced anywhere within the State or subdivision. 

20 ‘‘(D) OBJECTION BY THE ATTORNEY GEN21 ERAL.—The Attorney General has interposed 

22 an objection under section 3(c) or section 5, 

23 and thereby prevented a voting qualification or 

24 prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, or 

25 procedure with respect to voting from being enVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H14.IH H14

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
20 

•HR 14 IH

1 forced anywhere within the State or subdivision. 

2 A violation per this subsection has not occurred 

3 where an objection has been withdrawn by the 

4 Attorney General, unless the withdrawal was in 

5 response to a change in the law or practice that 

6 served as the basis of the objection. A violation 

7 under this subsection has not occurred where 

8 the objection is based solely on a State or polit9 ical subdivision’s failure to comply with a proce10 dural process that would not otherwise con11 stitute an independent violation of this act. 

12 ‘‘(E) CONSENT DECREE, SETTLEMENT, OR

13 OTHER AGREEMENT.—A consent decree, settle14 ment, or other agreement was adopted or en15 tered by a court of the United States or con16 tained an admission of liability by the defend17 ants, which resulted in the alteration or aban18 donment of a voting practice anywhere in the 

19 territory of such State or subdivision that was 

20 challenged on the ground that the practice de21 nied or abridged the right of any citizen of the 

22 United States to vote on account of race, color, 

23 or membership in a language minority group in 

24 violation of subsection 4(e) or 4(f) or section 2, 

25 201, or 203 of this Act, or the 14th or 15th 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
21 

•HR 14 IH

1 Amendment. An extension or modification of an 

2 agreement as defined by this subsection that 

3 has been in place for ten years or longer shall 

4 count as an independent violation. If a court of 

5 the United States finds that an agreement itself 

6 as defined by this subsection denied or abridged 

7 the right of any citizen of the United States to 

8 vote on account of race, color, or membership in 

9 a language minority group, violated subsection 

10 4(e) or 4(f) or section 2, 201, or 203 of this 

11 Act, or created an undue burden on the right 

12 to vote in connection with a claim that the con13 sent decree, settlement, or other agreement un14 duly burdened voters of a particular race, color, 

15 or language minority group, that finding shall 

16 count as an independent violation. 

17 ‘‘(F) MULTIPLE VIOLATIONS.—Each vot18 ing qualification or prerequisite to voting or 

19 standard, practice, or procedure with respect to 

20 voting, including each redistricting plan, found 

21 to be a violation by a court of the United States 

22 pursuant to subsection (a) or (b), or prevented 

23 from enforcement pursuant to subsection (c) or 

24 (d), or altered or abandoned pursuant to sub25 section (e) shall count as an independent violaVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H14.IH H14

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
22 

•HR 14 IH

1 tion. Within a redistricting plan, each violation 

2 found to discriminate against any group of vot3 ers based on race, color, or language minority 

4 group shall count as an independent violation. 

5 ‘‘(4) TIMING OF DETERMINATIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATIONS OF VOTING RIGHTS

7 VIOLATIONS.—As early as practicable during 

8 each calendar year, the Attorney General shall 

9 make the determinations required by this sub10 section, including updating the list of voting 

11 rights violations occurring in each State and po12 litical subdivision for the previous calendar 

13 year. 

14 ‘‘(B) EFFECTIVE UPON PUBLICATION IN

15 FEDERAL REGISTER.—A determination or cer16 tification of the Attorney General under this 

17 section or under section 8 or 13 shall be effec18 tive upon publication in the Federal Register.’’. 

19 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 4(a) 

20 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 10303(a)) is amended— 

21 (A) in paragraph (1), in the first sentence 

22 of the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by 

23 striking ‘‘any State with respect to which’’ and 

24 all that follows through ‘‘unless’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘any State to which this subsection applies durVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H14.IH H14

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
23 

•HR 14 IH

1 ing a calendar year pursuant to determinations 

2 made under subsection (b), or in any political 

3 subdivision of such State (as such subdivision 

4 existed on the date such determinations were 

5 made with respect to such State), though such 

6 determinations were not made with respect to 

7 such subdivision as a separate unit, or in any 

8 political subdivision with respect to which this 

9 subsection applies during a calendar year pur10 suant to determinations made with respect to 

11 such subdivision as a separate unit under sub12 section (b), unless’’; 

13 (B) in paragraph (1) in the matter pre14 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking the second 

15 sentence; 

16 (C) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘(in 

17 the case of a State or subdivision seeking a de18 claratory judgment under the second sentence 

19 of this subsection)’’; 

20 (D) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘(in 

21 the case of a State or subdivision seeking a de22 claratory judgment under the second sentence 

23 of this subsection)’’; 

24 (E) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘(in the 

25 case of a State or subdivision seeking a declaraVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H14.IH H14

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
24 

•HR 14 IH

1 tory judgment under the second sentence of this 

2 subsection)’’; 

3 (F) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘(in the 

4 case of a State or subdivision which sought a 

5 declaratory judgment under the second sentence 

6 of this subsection)’’; 

7 (G) by striking paragraphs (7) and (8); 

8 and 

9 (H) by redesignating paragraph (9) as 

10 paragraph (7). 

11 (b) CLARIFICATION OF TREATMENT OF MEMBERS OF

12 LANGUAGE MINORITY GROUPS.—Section 4(a)(1) of such 

13 Act (52 U.S.C. 10303(a)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘race 

14 or color,’’ and inserting ‘‘race, color, or in contravention 

15 of the guarantees of subsection (f)(2),’’. 

16 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE BAILOUT.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 4 of the Voting 

18 Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10303) is amended 

19 by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(g) ADMINISTRATIVE BAILOUT.— 

21 ‘‘(1) DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After making a deter23 mination under subsection (b)(1)(A) that the 

24 provisions of subsection (a) apply with respect 

25 to a State and all political subdivisions within 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
25 

•HR 14 IH

1 the State, the Attorney General shall determine 

2 if any political subdivision of the State is eligi3 ble for an exemption under this subsection, and 

4 shall publish, in the Federal Register, a list of 

5 all such political subdivisions. Any political sub6 division included on such list is not subject to 

7 any requirement under section 5 until the date 

8 on which any application under this section has 

9 been finally disposed of or no such application 

10 may be made. 

11 ‘‘(B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 

12 in this subsection may be construed to pro13 vide— 

14 ‘‘(i) that the determinations made 

15 pursuant to the creation of the list shall 

16 have any binding or preclusive effect; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) that inclusion on the list— 

18 ‘‘(I) constitutes a final deter19 mination by the Attorney General that 

20 the listee is eligible for an exemption 

21 pursuant to this subsection or that, in 

22 the case of the listee, the provisions of 

23 subparagraphs (A) through (F) of 

24 subsection (a)(1) are satisfied; or 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
26 

•HR 14 IH

1 ‘‘(II) entitles the listee to any ex2 emption pursuant to this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY.—A political subdivision that 

4 submits an application under paragraph (3) shall be 

5 eligible for an exemption under this subsection only 

6 if, during the ten years preceding the filing of the 

7 application, and during the pendency of such appli8 cation— 

9 ‘‘(A) no test or device referred to in sub10 section (a)(1) has been used within such polit11 ical subdivision for the purpose or with the ef12 fect of denying or abridging the right to vote on 

13 account of race or color or in contravention of 

14 the guarantees of subsection (f)(2); 

15 ‘‘(B) no final judgment of any court of the 

16 United States, other than the denial of declara17 tory judgment under this section, has deter18 mined that denials or abridgements of the right 

19 to vote on account of race or color have oc20 curred anywhere in the territory of such polit21 ical subdivision or that denials or abridgements 

22 of the right to vote in contravention of the 

23 guarantees of subsection (f)(2) have occurred 

24 anywhere in the territory of such subdivision 

25 and no consent decree, settlement, or agreement 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
27 

•HR 14 IH

1 has been entered into resulting in any abandon2 ment of a voting practice challenged on such 

3 grounds; and no declaratory judgment under 

4 this section shall be entered during the pend5 ency of an action commenced before the filing 

6 of an action under this section and alleging 

7 such denials or abridgements of the right to 

8 vote; 

9 ‘‘(C) no Federal examiners or observers 

10 under this Act have been assigned to such polit11 ical subdivision; 

12 ‘‘(D) such political subdivision and all gov13 ernmental units within its territory have com14 plied with section 5 of this Act, including com15 pliance with the requirement that no change 

16 covered by section 5 has been enforced without 

17 preclearance under section 5, and have repealed 

18 all changes covered by section 5 to which the 

19 Attorney General has successfully objected or as 

20 to which the United States District Court for 

21 the District of Columbia has denied a declara22 tory judgment; 

23 ‘‘(E) the Attorney General has not inter24 posed any objection (that has not been over25 turned by a final judgment of a court) and no 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
28 

•HR 14 IH

1 declaratory judgment has been denied under 

2 section 5, with respect to any submission by or 

3 on behalf of the plaintiff or any governmental 

4 unit within its territory under section 5, and no 

5 such submissions or declaratory judgment ac6 tions are pending; and 

7 ‘‘(F) such political subdivision and all gov8 ernmental units within its territory— 

9 ‘‘(i) have eliminated voting procedures 

10 and methods of election which inhibit or 

11 dilute equal access to the electoral process; 

12 ‘‘(ii) have engaged in constructive ef13 forts to eliminate intimidation and harass14 ment of persons exercising rights protected 

15 under this Act; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) have engaged in other construc17 tive efforts, such as expanded opportunity 

18 for convenient registration and voting for 

19 every person of voting age and the appoint20 ment of minority persons as election offi21 cials throughout the jurisdiction and at all 

22 stages of the election and registration 

23 process. 

24 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION PERIOD.—Not later than 90 

25 days after the publication of the list under paraVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H14.IH H14

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
29 

•HR 14 IH

1 graph (1), a political subdivision included on such 

2 list may submit an application, containing such in3 formation as the Attorney General may require, for 

4 an exemption under this subsection. The Attorney 

5 General shall provide notice in the Federal Register 

6 of such application. 

7 ‘‘(4) COMMENT PERIOD.—During the 90-day 

8 period beginning on the date that notice is published 

9 under paragraph (3), the Attorney General shall give 

10 interested persons an opportunity to submit objec11 tions to the issuance of an exemption under this 

12 subsection to a political subdivision on the basis that 

13 the political subdivision is not eligible under para14 graph (2) to the Attorney General. During the 1 

15 year period beginning on the effective date of this 

16 subsection, such 90-day period shall be extended by 

17 an additional 30 days. The Attorney General shall 

18 notify the political subdivision of each objection sub19 mitted and afford the political subdivision an oppor20 tunity to respond. 

21 ‘‘(5) DETERMINATION AS TO OBJECTIONS.—In 

22 the case of a political subdivision with respect to 

23 which an objection has been submitted under para24 graph (4), the following shall apply: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
30 

•HR 14 IH

1 ‘‘(A) CONSIDERATION OF OBJECTIONS.— 

2 The Attorney General shall consider and re3 spond to each such objection (and any response 

4 of the political subdivision thereto) during the 

5 60-day period beginning on the day after the 

6 comment period under paragraph (4) concludes. 

7 ‘‘(B) JUSTIFIED OBJECTIONS.—If the At8 torney General determines that any such objec9 tion is justified, the Attorney General shall pub10 lish notice in the Federal Register denying the 

11 application for an exemption under this sub12 section. 

13 ‘‘(C) UNJUSTIFIED OBJECTIONS.—If the 

14 Attorney General determines that no objection 

15 submitted is justified, each person that sub16 mitted such an objection may, not later than 90 

17 days after the end of the period established 

18 under subparagraph (A), file, in the District 

19 Court of the District of Columbia, an action for 

20 judicial review of such determination in accord21 ance with chapter 7 of title 5, United States 

22 Code. 

23 ‘‘(6) EXEMPTION.—The Attorney General may 

24 issue an exemption, by publication in the Federal 

25 Register, from the application of the provisions of 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
31 

•HR 14 IH

1 subsection (a) with respect to a political subdivision 

2 that— 

3 ‘‘(A) is eligible under paragraph (2); and 

4 ‘‘(B) with respect to which no objection 

5 under was submitted under paragraph (4) or 

6 determined to be justified under paragraph (5). 

7 ‘‘(7) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Except as otherwise 

8 explicitly provided in this subsection, no determina9 tion under this subsection shall be subject to review 

10 by any court, and all determinations under this sub11 section are committed to the discretion of the Attor12 ney General. 

13 ‘‘(8) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—If a political subdivi14 sion was not subject to the application of the provi15 sions of subsection (a) by reason of a declaratory 

16 judgment entered prior to the effective date of this 

17 subsection, and such political subdivision has not 

18 violated any eligibility requirement set forth in para19 graph (2) at any time thereafter, then that political 

20 subdivision shall not be subject to the requirements 

21 of subsection (a).’’. 

22 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(a)(1) of the 

24 Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 

25 10303(a)(1)), as amended by this Act, is furVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H14.IH H14

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
32 

•HR 14 IH

1 ther amended by inserting after ‘‘the United 

2 States District Court for the District of Colum3 bia issues a declaratory judgment under this 

4 section’’ the following: ‘‘, or, in the case of a 

5 political subdivision, the Attorney General 

6 issues an exemption under subsection (g)’’. 

7 (B) EXPIRATION OF TIME LIMIT.—On the 

8 date that is 1 year after the effective date of 

9 this subsection, section 4(g)(3) of the Voting 

10 Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10303(g)(3)) is 

11 amended by striking ‘‘During the 1 year period 

12 beginning on the effective date of this sub13 section, such 90-day period shall be extended by 

14 an additional 30 days.’’. For purposes of any 

15 periods under such section commenced as of 

16 such date, the 90-day period shall remain ex17 tended by an additional 30 days. 

18 SEC. 6. DETERMINATION OF STATES AND POLITICAL SUB19 DIVISIONS SUBJECT TO PRECLEARANCE FOR 

20 COVERED PRACTICES. 

21 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et 

22 seq.) is further amended by inserting after section 4 the 

23 following: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
33 

•HR 14 IH

1 ‘‘SEC. 4A. DETERMINATION OF STATES AND POLITICAL 

2 SUBDIVISIONS SUBJECT TO PRECLEARANCE 

3 FOR COVERED PRACTICES. 

4 ‘‘(a) PRACTICE-BASED PRECLEARANCE.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State and each polit6 ical subdivision shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) identify any newly enacted or adopted 

8 law, regulation, or policy that includes a voting 

9 qualification or prerequisite to voting, or a 

10 standard, practice, or procedure with respect to 

11 voting, that is a covered practice described in 

12 subsection (b); and 

13 ‘‘(B) ensure that no such covered practice 

14 is implemented unless or until the State or po15 litical subdivision, as the case may be, complies 

16 with subsection (c). 

17 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATIONS OF CHARACTERISTICS

18 OF VOTING-AGE POPULATION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—As early as prac20 ticable during each calendar year, the Attorney 

21 General, in consultation with the Director of 

22 the Bureau of the Census and the heads of 

23 other relevant offices of the government, shall 

24 make the determinations required by this sec25 tion regarding voting-age populations and the 

26 characteristics of such populations, and shall 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
34 

•HR 14 IH

1 publish a list of the States and political subdivi2 sions to which a voting-age population char3 acteristic described in subsection (b) applies. 

4 ‘‘(B) PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REG5 ISTER.—A determination or certification of the 

6 Attorney General under this paragraph shall be 

7 effective upon publication in the Federal Reg8 ister. 

9 ‘‘(b) COVERED PRACTICES.—To assure that the right 

10 of citizens of the United States to vote is not denied or 

11 abridged on account of race, color, or membership in a 

12 language minority group as a result of the implementation 

13 of certain qualifications or prerequisites to voting, or 

14 standards, practices, or procedures with respect to voting 

15 newly adopted in a State or political subdivision, the fol16 lowing shall be covered practices subject to the require17 ments described in subsection (a): 

18 ‘‘(1) CHANGES TO METHOD OF ELECTION.— 

19 Any change to the method of election— 

20 ‘‘(A) to add seats elected at-large in a 

21 State or political subdivision where— 

22 ‘‘(i) two or more racial groups or lan23 guage minority groups each represent 20 

24 percent or more of the political subdivi25 sion’s voting-age population; or 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
35 

•HR 14 IH

1 ‘‘(ii) a single language minority group 

2 represents 20 percent or more of the vot3 ing-age population on Indian lands located 

4 in whole or in part in the political subdivi5 sion; or 

6 ‘‘(B) to convert one or more seats elected 

7 from a single-member district to one or more 

8 at-large seats or seats from a multi-member 

9 district in a State or political subdivision 

10 where— 

11 ‘‘(i) two or more racial groups or lan12 guage minority groups each represent 20 

13 percent or more of the political subdivi14 sion’s voting-age population; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) a single language minority group 

16 represents 20 percent or more of the vot17 ing-age population on Indian lands located 

18 in whole or in part in the political subdivi19 sion. 

20 ‘‘(2) CHANGES TO JURISDICTION BOUND21 ARIES.—Any change or series of changes within a 

22 year to the boundaries of a jurisdiction that reduces 

23 by 3 or more percentage points the proportion of the 

24 jurisdiction’s voting-age population that is comprised 

25 of members of a single racial group or language miVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H14.IH H14

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
36 

•HR 14 IH

1 nority group in a State or political subdivision 

2 where— 

3 ‘‘(A) two or more racial groups or lan4 guage minority groups each represent 20 per5 cent or more of the political subdivision’s vot6 ing-age population; or 

7 ‘‘(B) a single language minority group rep8 resents 20 percent or more of the voting-age 

9 population on Indian lands located in whole or 

10 in part in the political subdivision. 

11 ‘‘(3) CHANGES THROUGH REDISTRICTING.— 

12 Any change to the boundaries of election districts in 

13 a State or political subdivision where any racial 

14 group or language minority group that is not the 

15 largest racial group or language minority group in 

16 the jurisdiction and that represents 15 percent or 

17 more of the State or political subdivision’s voting18 age population experiences a population increase of 

19 at least 20 percent of its voting-age population, over 

20 the preceding decade (as calculated by the Bureau 

21 of the Census under the most recent decennial cen22 sus), in the jurisdiction. 

23 ‘‘(4) CHANGES IN DOCUMENTATION OR QUALI24 FICATIONS TO VOTE.—Any change to requirements 

25 for documentation or proof of identity to vote or regVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H14.IH H14

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
37 

•HR 14 IH

1 ister to vote that will exceed or be more stringent 

2 than such requirements under State law on the day 

3 before the date of enactment of the John R. Lewis 

4 Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2023; and fur5 ther, if a State has in effect a requirement that an 

6 individual present identification as a condition of re7 ceiving and casting a ballot in an election for Fed8 eral office, if the State does not permit the indi9 vidual to meet the requirement and cast a ballot in 

10 the election in the same manner as an individual 

11 who presents identification— 

12 ‘‘(A) in the case of an individual who de13 sires to vote in person, by presenting the appro14 priate State or local election official with a 

15 sworn written statement, signed by the indi16 vidual under penalty of perjury, attesting to the 

17 individual’s identity and attesting that the indi18 vidual is eligible to vote in the election; and 

19 ‘‘(B) in the case of an individual who de20 sires to vote by mail, by submitting with the 

21 ballot the statement described in subparagraph 

22 (A). 

23 ‘‘(5) CHANGES TO MULTILINGUAL VOTING MA24 TERIALS.—Any change that reduces multilingual 

25 voting materials or alters the manner in which such 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
38 

•HR 14 IH

1 materials are provided or distributed, where no simi2 lar reduction or alteration occurs in materials pro3 vided in English for such election. 

4 ‘‘(6) CHANGES THAT REDUCE, CONSOLIDATE, 

5 OR RELOCATE VOTING LOCATIONS, OR REDUCE VOT6 ING OPPORTUNITIES.—Any change that reduces, 

7 consolidates, or relocates voting locations, including 

8 early, absentee, and election-day voting locations, or 

9 reduces days or hours of in-person voting on any 

10 Sunday during a period occurring prior to the date 

11 of an election during which voters may cast ballots 

12 in such election, or prohibits the provision of food or 

13 non-alcoholic drink to persons waiting to vote in an 

14 election except where the provision would violate 

15 prohibitions on expenditures to influence voting— 

16 ‘‘(A) in one or more census tracts wherein 

17 two or more language minority groups or racial 

18 groups each represent 20 percent or more of 

19 the voting-age population of the political sub20 division; or 

21 ‘‘(B) on Indian lands wherein at least 20 

22 percent of the voting-age population belongs to 

23 a single language minority group. 

24 ‘‘(7) NEW LIST MAINTENANCE PROCESS.—Any 

25 change to the maintenance of voter registration lists 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
39 

•HR 14 IH

1 that adds a new basis for removal from the list of 

2 active registered voters or that incorporates new 

3 sources of information in determining a voter’s eligi4 bility to vote, wherein such a change would have a 

5 statistically significant disparate impact on the re6 moval from voter rolls of members of racial groups 

7 or language minority groups that constitute greater 

8 than 5 percent of the voting-age population— 

9 ‘‘(A) in the case of a political subdivision 

10 imposing such change if— 

11 ‘‘(i) two or more racial groups or lan12 guage minority groups each represent 20 

13 percent or more of the voting-age popu14 lation of the political subdivision; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) a single language minority group 

16 represents 20 percent or more of the vot17 ing-age population on Indian lands located 

18 in whole or in part in the political subdivi19 sion; or 

20 ‘‘(B) in the case of a State imposing such 

21 change, if two or more racial groups or lan22 guage minority groups each represent 20 per23 cent or more of the voting-age population of— 

24 ‘‘(i) the State; or 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
40 

•HR 14 IH

1 ‘‘(ii) a political subdivision in the 

2 State, except that the requirements under 

3 subsections (a) and (c) shall apply only 

4 with respect to each such political subdivi5 sion. 

6 ‘‘(c) PRECLEARANCE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whenever a State or polit8 ical subdivision with respect to which the require9 ments set forth in subsection (a) are in effect shall 

10 enact, adopt, or seek to implement any covered prac11 tice described under subsection (b), such State or 

12 subdivision may institute an action in the United 

13 States District Court for the District of Columbia 

14 for a declaratory judgment that such covered prac15 tice neither has the purpose nor will have the effect 

16 of denying or abridging the right to vote on account 

17 of race, color, or membership in a language minority 

18 group, and unless and until the court enters such 

19 judgment such covered practice shall not be imple20 mented. Notwithstanding the previous sentence, such 

21 covered practice may be implemented without such 

22 proceeding if the covered practice has been sub23 mitted by the chief legal officer or other appropriate 

24 official of such State or subdivision to the Attorney 

25 General and the Attorney General has not interVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H14.IH H14

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
41 

•HR 14 IH

1 posed an objection within 60 days after such submis2 sion, or upon good cause shown, to facilitate an ex3 pedited approval within 60 days after such submis4 sion, the Attorney General has affirmatively indi5 cated that such objection will not be made. Neither 

6 an affirmative indication by the Attorney General 

7 that no objection will be made, nor the Attorney 

8 General’s failure to object, nor a declaratory judg9 ment entered under this section shall bar a subse10 quent action to enjoin implementation of such cov11 ered practice. In the event the Attorney General af12 firmatively indicates that no objection will be made 

13 within the 60-day period following receipt of a sub14 mission, the Attorney General may reserve the right 

15 to reexamine the submission if additional informa16 tion comes to the Attorney General’s attention dur17 ing the remainder of the 60-day period which would 

18 otherwise require objection in accordance with this 

19 section. Any action under this section shall be heard 

20 and determined by a court of three judges in accord21 ance with the provisions of section 2284 of title 28, 

22 United States Code, and any appeal shall lie to the 

23 Supreme Court. 

24 ‘‘(2) DENYING OR ABRIDGING THE RIGHT TO

25 VOTE.—Any covered practice described in subsection 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
42 

•HR 14 IH

1 (b) that has the purpose of or will have the effect 

2 of diminishing the ability of any citizens of the 

3 United States on account of race, color, or member4 ship in a language minority group, to elect their pre5 ferred candidates of choice denies or abridges the 

6 right to vote within the meaning of paragraph (1) of 

7 this subsection. 

8 ‘‘(3) PURPOSE DEFINED.—The term ‘purpose’ 

9 in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection shall in10 clude any discriminatory purpose. 

11 ‘‘(4) PURPOSE OF PARAGRAPH (2).—The pur12 pose of paragraph (2) of this subsection is to protect 

13 the ability of such citizens to elect their preferred 

14 candidates of choice. 

15 ‘‘(d) ENFORCEMENT.—The Attorney General or any 

16 aggrieved citizen may file an action in a Federal district 

17 court to compel any State or political subdivision to satisfy 

18 the obligations set forth in this section. Such actions shall 

19 be heard and determined by a court of three judges under 

20 section 2284 of title 28, United States Code. In any such 

21 action, the court shall provide as a remedy that any voting 

22 qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, prac23 tice, or procedure with respect to voting, that is the sub24 ject of the action under this subsection be enjoined unless 

25 the court determines that— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
43 

•HR 14 IH

1 ‘‘(1) the voting qualification or prerequisite to 

2 voting, or standard, practice, or procedure with re3 spect to voting, is not a covered practice described 

4 in subsection (b); or 

5 ‘‘(2) the State or political subdivision has com6 plied with subsection (c) with respect to the covered 

7 practice at issue. 

8 ‘‘(e) COUNTING OF RACIAL GROUPS AND LANGUAGE

9 MINORITY GROUPS.—For purposes of this section, the cal10 culation of the population of a racial group or a language 

11 minority group shall be carried out using the methodology 

12 in the guidance promulgated in the Federal Register on 

13 February 9, 2011 (76 Fed. Reg. 7470). 

14 ‘‘(f) SPECIAL RULE.—For purposes of determina15 tions under this section, any data provided by the Bureau 

16 of the Census, whether based on estimation from sample 

17 or actual enumeration, shall not be subject to challenge 

18 or review in any court. 

19 ‘‘(g) MULTILINGUAL VOTING MATERIALS.—In this 

20 section, the term ‘multilingual voting materials’ means 

21 registration or voting notices, forms, instructions, assist22 ance, or other materials or information relating to the 

23 electoral process, including ballots, provided in the lan24 guage or languages of one or more language minority 

25 groups.’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
44 

•HR 14 IH

1 SEC. 7. PROMOTING TRANSPARENCY TO ENFORCE THE 

2 VOTING RIGHTS ACT. 

3 (a) TRANSPARENCY.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Voting Rights Act of 

5 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.) is amended by in6 serting after section 5 the following new section: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 6. TRANSPARENCY REGARDING CHANGES TO PRO8 TECT VOTING RIGHTS. 

9 ‘‘(a) NOTICE OF ENACTED CHANGES.— 

10 ‘‘(1) NOTICE OF CHANGES.—If a State or polit11 ical subdivision makes any change in any qualifica12 tion or prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, 

13 or procedure with respect to voting in any election 

14 for Federal office that will result in the qualification 

15 or prerequisite, standard, practice, or procedure 

16 being different from that which was in effect as of 

17 180 days before the date of the election for Federal 

18 office, the State or political subdivision shall provide 

19 reasonable public notice in such State or political 

20 subdivision and on the website of the State or polit21 ical subdivision, of a concise description of the 

22 change, including the difference between the 

23 changed qualification or prerequisite, standard, prac24 tice, or procedure and the prerequisite, standard, 

25 practice, or procedure which was previously in effect. 

26 The public notice described in this paragraph, in 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
45 

•HR 14 IH

1 such State or political subdivision and on the website 

2 of a State or political subdivision, shall be in a for3 mat that is reasonably convenient and accessible to 

4 persons with disabilities who are eligible to vote, in5 cluding persons who have low vision or are blind. 

6 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE FOR NOTICE.—A State or polit7 ical subdivision shall provide the public notice re8 quired under paragraph (1) not later than 48 hours 

9 after making the change involved. 

10 ‘‘(b) TRANSPARENCY REGARDING POLLING PLACE

11 RESOURCES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to identify any 

13 changes that may impact the right to vote of any 

14 person, prior to the 30th day before the date of an 

15 election for Federal office, each State or political 

16 subdivision with responsibility for allocating reg17 istered voters, voting machines, and official poll 

18 workers to particular precincts and polling places 

19 shall provide reasonable public notice in such State 

20 or political subdivision and on the website of a State 

21 or political subdivision, of the information described 

22 in paragraph (2) for precincts and polling places 

23 within such State or political subdivision. The public 

24 notice described in this paragraph, in such State or 

25 political subdivision and on the website of a State or 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
46 

•HR 14 IH

1 political subdivision, shall be in a format that is rea2 sonably convenient and accessible to persons with 

3 disabilities who are eligible to vote, including persons 

4 who have low vision or are blind. 

5 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—The informa6 tion described in this paragraph with respect to a 

7 precinct or polling place is each of the following: 

8 ‘‘(A) The name or number. 

9 ‘‘(B) In the case of a polling place, the lo10 cation, including the street address, and wheth11 er such polling place is accessible to persons 

12 with disabilities. 

13 ‘‘(C) The voting-age population of the area 

14 served by the precinct or polling place, broken 

15 down by demographic group if such breakdown 

16 is reasonably available to such State or political 

17 subdivision. 

18 ‘‘(D) The number of registered voters as19 signed to the precinct or polling place, broken 

20 down by demographic group if such breakdown 

21 is reasonably available to such State or political 

22 subdivision. 

23 ‘‘(E) The number of voting machines as24 signed, including the number of voting ma25 chines accessible to persons with disabilities 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
47 

•HR 14 IH

1 who are eligible to vote, including persons who 

2 have low vision or are blind. 

3 ‘‘(F) The number of official paid poll 

4 workers assigned. 

5 ‘‘(G) The number of official volunteer poll 

6 workers assigned. 

7 ‘‘(H) In the case of a polling place, the 

8 dates and hours of operation. 

9 ‘‘(3) UPDATES IN INFORMATION REPORTED.— 

10 If a State or political subdivision makes any change 

11 in any of the information described in paragraph 

12 (2), the State or political subdivision shall provide 

13 reasonable public notice in such State or political 

14 subdivision and on the website of a State or political 

15 subdivision, of the change in the information not 

16 later than 48 hours after the change occurs or, if 

17 the change occurs fewer than 48 hours before the 

18 date of the election for Federal office, as soon as 

19 practicable after the change occurs. The public no20 tice described in this paragraph and published on 

21 the website of a State or political subdivision shall 

22 be in a format that is reasonably convenient and ac23 cessible to persons with disabilities who are eligible 

24 to vote, including persons who have low vision or are 

25 blind. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
48 

•HR 14 IH

1 ‘‘(c) TRANSPARENCY OF CHANGES RELATING TO DE2 MOGRAPHICS AND ELECTORAL DISTRICTS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) REQUIRING PUBLIC NOTICE OF

4 CHANGES.—Not later than 10 days after making 

5 any change in the constituency that will participate 

6 in an election for Federal, State, or local office or 

7 the boundaries of a voting unit or electoral district 

8 in an election for Federal, State, or local office (in9 cluding through redistricting, reapportionment, 

10 changing from at-large elections to district-based 

11 elections, or changing from district-based elections 

12 to at-large elections), a State or political subdivision 

13 shall provide reasonable public notice in such State 

14 or political subdivision and on the website of a State 

15 or political subdivision, of the demographic and elec16 toral data described in paragraph (3) for each of the 

17 geographic areas described in paragraph (2). 

18 ‘‘(2) GEOGRAPHIC AREAS DESCRIBED.—The ge19 ographic areas described in this paragraph are as 

20 follows: 

21 ‘‘(A) The State as a whole, if the change 

22 applies statewide, or the political subdivision as 

23 a whole, if the change applies across the entire 

24 political subdivision. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
49 

•HR 14 IH

1 ‘‘(B) If the change includes a plan to re2 place or eliminate voting units or electoral dis3 tricts, each voting unit or electoral district that 

4 will be replaced or eliminated. 

5 ‘‘(C) If the change includes a plan to es6 tablish new voting units or electoral districts, 

7 each such new voting unit or electoral district. 

8 ‘‘(3) DEMOGRAPHIC AND ELECTORAL DATA.— 

9 The demographic and electoral data described in this 

10 paragraph with respect to a geographic area de11 scribed in paragraph (2) are each of the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) The voting-age population, broken 

13 down by demographic group. 

14 ‘‘(B) If it is reasonably available to the 

15 State or political subdivision involved, an esti16 mate of the population of the area which con17 sists of citizens of the United States who are 18 

18 years of age or older, broken down by demo19 graphic group. 

20 ‘‘(C) The number of registered voters, bro21 ken down by demographic group if such break22 down is reasonably available to the State or po23 litical subdivision involved. 

24 ‘‘(D)(i) If the change applies to a State, 

25 the actual number of votes, or (if it is not reaVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H14.IH H14

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
50 

•HR 14 IH

1 sonably practicable for the State to ascertain 

2 the actual number of votes) the estimated num3 ber of votes received by each candidate in each 

4 statewide election held during the 5-year period 

5 which ends on the date the change involved is 

6 made; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) if the change applies to only one polit8 ical subdivision, the actual number of votes, or 

9 (if it is not reasonably practicable for the polit10 ical subdivision to ascertain the actual number 

11 of votes) in each subdivision-wide election held 

12 during the 5-year period which ends on the date 

13 the change involved is made. 

14 ‘‘(4) VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE BY SMALLER JU15 RISDICTIONS.—Compliance with this subsection shall 

16 be voluntary for a political subdivision of a State un17 less the subdivision is one of the following: 

18 ‘‘(A) A county or parish. 

19 ‘‘(B) A municipality with a population 

20 greater than 10,000, as determined by the Bu21 reau of the Census under the most recent de22 cennial census. 

23 ‘‘(C) A school district with a population 

24 greater than 10,000, as determined by the Bu25 reau of the Census under the most recent deVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H14.IH H14

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
51 

•HR 14 IH

1 cennial census. For purposes of this subpara2 graph, the term ‘school district’ means the geo3 graphic area under the jurisdiction of a local 

4 educational agency (as defined in section 9101 

5 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

6 Act of 1965). 

7 ‘‘(d) RULES REGARDING FORMAT OF INFORMA8 TION.—The Attorney General may issue rules specifying 

9 a reasonably convenient and accessible format that States 

10 and political subdivisions shall use to provide public notice 

11 of information under this section. 

12 ‘‘(e) NO DENIAL OF RIGHT TO VOTE.—The right to 

13 vote of any person shall not be denied or abridged because 

14 the person failed to comply with any change made by a 

15 State or political subdivision to a voting qualification, pre16 requisite, standard, practice, or procedure if the State or 

17 political subdivision involved did not meet the applicable 

18 requirements of this section with respect to the change. 

19 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

20 ‘‘(1) the term ‘demographic group’ means each 

21 group which section 2 protects from the denial or 

22 abridgement of the right to vote on account of race 

23 or color, or in contravention of the guarantees set 

24 forth in section 4(f)(2); 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
52 

•HR 14 IH

1 ‘‘(2) the term ‘election for Federal office’ means 

2 any general, special, primary, or runoff election held 

3 solely or in part for the purpose of electing any can4 didate for the office of President, Vice President, 

5 Presidential elector, Senator, Member of the House 

6 of Representatives, or Delegate or Resident Commis7 sioner to the Congress; and 

8 ‘‘(3) the term ‘persons with disabilities’, means 

9 individuals with a disability, as defined in section 3 

10 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.’’. 

11 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3(a) 

12 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 10302(a)) is amended by 

13 striking ‘‘in accordance with section 6’’. 

14 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

15 subsection (a)(1) shall apply with respect to changes which 

16 are made on or after the expiration of the 60-day period 

17 which begins on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 8. AUTHORITY TO ASSIGN OBSERVERS. 

19 (a) CLARIFICATION OF AUTHORITY IN POLITICAL

20 SUBDIVISIONS SUBJECT TO PRECLEARANCE.—Section 

21 8(a)(2)(B) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 

22 10305(a)(2)(B)) is amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(B) in the Attorney General’s judgment, 

24 the assignment of observers is otherwise nec25 essary to enforce the guarantees of the 14th or 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
53 

•HR 14 IH

1 15th Amendment or any provision of this Act 

2 or any other Federal law protecting the right of 

3 citizens of the United States to vote; or’’. 

4 (b) ASSIGNMENT OF OBSERVERS TO ENFORCE BI5 LINGUAL ELECTION REQUIREMENTS.—Section 8(a) of 

6 such Act (52 U.S.C. 10305(a)) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph 

8 (1); 

9 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(3) the Attorney General certifies with respect 

12 to a political subdivision that— 

13 ‘‘(A) the Attorney General has received 

14 written meritorious complaints from residents, 

15 elected officials, or civic participation organiza16 tions that efforts to violate section 203 are like17 ly to occur; or 

18 ‘‘(B) in the Attorney General’s judgment, 

19 the assignment of observers is necessary to en20 force the guarantees of section 203;’’; and 

21 (3) by moving the margin for the continuation 

22 text following paragraph (3), as added by paragraph 

23 (2) of this subsection, 2 ems to the left. 

24 (c) TRANSFERRAL OF AUTHORITY OVER OBSERVERS

25 TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
54 

•HR 14 IH

1 (1) ENFORCEMENT PROCEEDINGS.—Section 

2 3(a) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 

3 10302(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘United States 

4 Civil Service Commission in accordance with section 

5 6’’ and inserting ‘‘Attorney General in accordance 

6 with section 8’’. 

7 (2) OBSERVERS; APPOINTMENT AND COM8 PENSATION.—Section 8 of the Voting Rights Act of 

9 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10305) is amended— 

10 (A) in subsection (a)(2), in the matter fol11 lowing subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘Director 

12 of the Office of Personnel Management shall as13 sign as many observers for such subdivision as 

14 the Director’’ and inserting ‘‘Attorney General 

15 shall assign as many observers for such subdivi16 sion as the Attorney General’’; and 

17 (B) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘Director 

18 of the Office of Personnel Management’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘Attorney General’’. 

20 (3) TERMINATION OF CERTAIN APPOINTMENTS

21 OF OBSERVERS.—Section 13(a)(1) of the Voting 

22 Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10309(a)(1)) is 

23 amended by striking ‘‘notifies the Director of the Of24 fice of Personnel Management,’’ and inserting ‘‘de25 termines,’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
55 

•HR 14 IH

1 SEC. 9. CLARIFICATION OF AUTHORITY TO SEEK RELIEF. 

2 (a) POLL TAX.—Section 10(b) of the Voting Rights 

3 Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10306(b)) is amended by striking 

4 ‘‘the Attorney General is authorized and directed to insti5 tute forthwith in the name of the United States such ac6 tions’’ and inserting ‘‘an aggrieved person or (in the name 

7 of the United States) the Attorney General may institute 

8 such actions’’. 

9 (b) CAUSE OF ACTION.—Section 12(d) of the Voting 

10 Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10308(d)) is amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘Whenever any person has en12 gaged’’ and all that follows through ‘‘in the name of 

13 the United States’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) Whenever 

14 there are reasonable grounds to believe that any per15 son has implemented or will implement any voting 

16 qualification or prerequisite to voting or standard, 

17 practice, or procedure that would (A) deny any cit18 izen the right to vote in violation of the 14th, 15th, 

19 19th, 24th, or 26th Amendments, or (B) would vio20 late this Act (except for section 4A) or any other 

21 Federal law that prohibits discrimination on the 

22 basis of race, color, or membership in a language 

23 minority group in the voting process, an aggrieved 

24 person or (in the name of the United States) the At25 torney General may institute’’; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
56 

•HR 14 IH

1 (2) by striking ‘‘, and including an order di2 rected to the State and State or local election offi3 cials to require them (1) to permit persons listed 

4 under chapters 103 to 107 of this title to vote and 

5 (2) to count such votes’’. 

6 (c) JUDICIAL RELIEF.—Section 204 of the Voting 

7 Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10504) is amended by 

8 striking ‘‘Whenever the Attorney General has reason to 

9 believe’’ and all that follows through ‘‘as he deems appro10 priate’’ and inserting ‘‘Whenever there are reasonable 

11 grounds to believe that a State or political subdivision has 

12 engaged or is about to engage in any act or practice pro13 hibited by a provision of title II, an aggrieved person or 

14 (in the name of the United States) the Attorney General 

15 may institute an action in a district court of the United 

16 States, for a restraining order, a preliminary or perma17 nent injunction, or such other order as may be appro18 priate’’. 

19 (d) ENFORCEMENT OF TWENTY-SIXTH AMEND20 MENT.—Section 301(a)(1) of the Voting Rights Act of 

21 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10701) is amended by striking ‘‘The At22 torney General is directed to institute’’ and all that follows 

23 through ‘‘Constitution of the United States’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘An aggrieved person or (in the name of the United 

25 States) the Attorney General may institute an action in 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
57 

•HR 14 IH

1 a district court of the United States, for a restraining 

2 order, a preliminary or permanent injunction, or such 

3 other order as may be appropriate to implement the twen4 ty-sixth amendment to the Constitution of the United 

5 States’’. 

6 SEC. 10. PREVENTIVE RELIEF. 

7 Section 12(d) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 

8 U.S.C. 10308(d)), as amended by section 9, is further 

9 amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(2)(A) In considering any motion for preliminary re11 lief in any action for preventive relief described in this sub12 section, the court shall grant the relief if the court deter13 mines that the complainant has raised a serious question 

14 as to whether the challenged voting qualification or pre15 requisite to voting or standard, practice, or procedure vio16 lates this Act or the Constitution and, on balance, the 

17 hardship imposed on the defendant by the grant of the 

18 relief will be less than the hardship which would be im19 posed on the plaintiff if the relief were not granted. 

20 ‘‘(B) In making its determination under this para21 graph with respect to a change in any voting qualification, 

22 prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure 

23 with respect to voting, the court shall consider all relevant 

24 factors and give due weight to the following factors, if they 

25 are present: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
58 

•HR 14 IH

1 ‘‘(i) Whether the qualification, prerequisite, 

2 standard, practice, or procedure in effect prior to the 

3 change was adopted as a remedy for a Federal court 

4 judgment, consent decree, or admission regarding— 

5 ‘‘(I) discrimination on the basis of race or 

6 color in violation of the 14th or 15th Amend7 ment; 

8 ‘‘(II) a violation of the 19th, 24th, or 26th 

9 Amendments; 

10 ‘‘(III) a violation of this Act; or 

11 ‘‘(IV) voting discrimination on the basis of 

12 race, color, or membership in a language minor13 ity group in violation of any other Federal or 

14 State law. 

15 ‘‘(ii) Whether the qualification, prerequisite, 

16 standard, practice, or procedure in effect prior to the 

17 change served as a ground for the dismissal or set18 tlement of a claim alleging— 

19 ‘‘(I) discrimination on the basis of race or 

20 color in violation of the 14th or 15th Amend21 ment; 

22 ‘‘(II) a violation of the 19th, 24th, or 26th 

23 Amendment; 

24 ‘‘(III) a violation of this Act; or 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
59 

•HR 14 IH

1 ‘‘(IV) voting discrimination on the basis of 

2 race, color, or membership in a language minor3 ity group in violation of any other Federal or 

4 State law. 

5 ‘‘(iii) Whether the change was adopted fewer 

6 than 180 days before the date of the election with 

7 respect to which the change is to take or takes ef8 fect. 

9 ‘‘(iv) Whether the defendant has failed to pro10 vide timely or complete notice of the adoption of the 

11 change as required by applicable Federal or State 

12 law. 

13 ‘‘(3) A jurisdiction’s inability to enforce its voting or 

14 election laws, regulations, policies, or redistricting plans, 

15 standing alone, shall not be deemed to constitute irrep16 arable harm to the public interest or to the interests of 

17 a defendant in an action arising under the Constitution 

18 or any Federal law that prohibits discrimination on the 

19 basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority 

20 group in the voting process, for the purposes of deter21 mining whether a stay of a court’s order or an interlocu22 tory appeal under section 1253 of title 28, United States 

23 Code, is warranted.’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
60 

•HR 14 IH

1 SEC. 11. RELIEF FOR VIOLATIONS OF VOTING RIGHTS 

2 LAWS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

4 (1) RELIEF FOR VIOLATIONS OF VOTING

5 RIGHTS LAWS.—In this section, the term ‘‘prohibited 

6 act or practice’’ means— 

7 (A) any act or practice— 

8 (i) that creates an undue burden on 

9 the fundamental right to vote in violation 

10 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitu11 tion of the United States or violates the 

12 Equal Protection Clause of the 14th 

13 Amendment to the Constitution of the 

14 United States; or 

15 (ii) that is prohibited by the 15th, 

16 19th, 24th, or 26th Amendment to the 

17 Constitution of the United States, section 

18 2004 of the Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 

19 10101), the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 

20 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.), the National Voter 

21 Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 

22 20501 et seq.), the Uniformed and Over23 seas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 

24 U.S.C. 20301 et seq.), the Help America 

25 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20901 et 

26 seq.), the Voting Accessibility for the ElVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H14.IH H14

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
61 

•HR 14 IH

1 derly and Handicapped Act (52 U.S.C. 

2 20101 et seq.), or section 2003 of the Re3 vised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10102); and 

4 (B) any act or practice in violation of any 

5 Federal law that prohibits discrimination with 

6 respect to voting, including the Americans with 

7 Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et 

8 seq.). 

9 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

10 section shall be construed to diminish the authority 

11 or scope of authority of any person to bring an ac12 tion under any Federal law. 

13 (3) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—Section 722(b) of the 

14 Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1988(b)) is amended by 

15 inserting ‘‘a provision described in section 2(a) of 

16 the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act 

17 of 2023,’’ after ‘‘title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 

18 1964,’’. 

19 (b) GROUNDS FOR EQUITABLE RELIEF.—In any ac20 tion for equitable relief pursuant to a law listed under sub21 section (a), proximity of the action to an election shall not 

22 be a valid reason to deny such relief, or stay the operation 

23 of or vacate the issuance of such relief, unless the party 

24 opposing the issuance or continued operation of relief 

25 meets the burden of proving by clear and convincing eviVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00061 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H14.IH H14

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
62 

•HR 14 IH

1 dence that the issuance of the relief would be so close in 

2 time to the election as to cause irreparable harm to the 

3 public interest or that compliance with such relief would 

4 impose serious burdens on the party opposing relief. 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—In considering whether to 

6 grant, deny, stay, or vacate any order of equitable 

7 relief, the court shall give substantial weight to the 

8 public’s interest in expanding access to the right to 

9 vote. A State’s generalized interest in enforcing its 

10 enacted laws shall not be a relevant consideration in 

11 determining whether equitable relief is warranted. 

12 (2) PRESUMPTIVE SAFE HARBOR.—Where equi13 table relief is sought either within 30 days of the 

14 adoption or reasonable public notice of the chal15 lenged policy or practice, or more than 45 days be16 fore the date of an election to which the relief being 

17 sought will apply, proximity to the election will be 

18 presumed not to constitute a harm to the public in19 terest or a burden on the party opposing relief. 

20 (c) GROUNDS FOR STAY OR VACATUR IN FEDERAL

21 CLAIMS INVOLVING VOTING RIGHTS.— 

22 (1) PROSPECTIVE EFFECT.—In reviewing an 

23 application for a stay or vacatur of equitable relief 

24 granted pursuant to a law listed in subsection (a), 

25 a court shall give substantial weight to the reliance 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
63 

•HR 14 IH

1 interests of citizens who acted pursuant to such 

2 order under review. In fashioning a stay or vacatur, 

3 a reviewing court shall not order relief that has the 

4 effect of denying or abridging the right to vote of 

5 any citizen who has acted in reliance on the order. 

6 (2) WRITTEN EXPLANATION.—No stay or 

7 vacatur under this subsection shall issue unless the 

8 reviewing court makes specific findings that the pub9 lic interest, including the public’s interest in expand10 ing access to the ballot, will be harmed by the con11 tinuing operation of the equitable relief or that com12 pliance with such relief will impose serious burdens 

13 on the party seeking such a stay or vacatur such 

14 that those burdens substantially outweigh the bene15 fits to the public interest. In reviewing an applica16 tion for a stay or vacatur of equitable relief, findings 

17 of fact made in issuing the order under review shall 

18 not be set aside unless clearly erroneous. 

19 SEC. 12. ENFORCEMENT OF VOTING RIGHTS BY ATTORNEY 

20 GENERAL. 

21 Section 12 of the Voting Rights Act (52 U.S.C. 

22 10308), as amended by this Act, is further amended by 

23 adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(g) VOTING RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY

25 GENERAL.— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
64 

•HR 14 IH

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to fulfill the At2 torney General’s responsibility to enforce the Voting 

3 Rights Act and other Federal civil rights statutes 

4 that protect the right to vote, the Attorney General 

5 (or upon designation by the Attorney General, the 

6 Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights) is au7 thorized, before commencing a civil action, to issue 

8 a demand for inspection and information in writing 

9 to any State or political subdivision, or other govern10 mental representative or agent, with respect to any 

11 relevant documentary material that he has reason to 

12 believe is within their possession, custody, or control. 

13 A demand by the Attorney General under this sec14 tion may require— 

15 ‘‘(A) the production of such documentary 

16 material for inspection and copying; 

17 ‘‘(B) answers in writing to written ques18 tions with respect to such documentary mate19 rial; or 

20 ‘‘(C) both. 

21 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF AN ATTORNEY GENERAL

22 DEMAND.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any demand issued 

24 under paragraph (1), shall include a sworn cer25 tificate to identify the voting qualification or 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
65 

•HR 14 IH

1 prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, or 

2 procedure with respect to voting, or other vot3 ing related matter or issue, whose lawfulness 

4 the Attorney General is investigating and to 

5 identify the civil provisions of the Federal civil 

6 rights statute that protects the right to vote 

7 under which the investigation is being con8 ducted. The demand shall be reasonably cal9 culated to lead to the discovery of documentary 

10 material and information relevant to such civil 

11 rights investigation. Documentary material in12 cludes any material upon which relevant infor13 mation is recorded, and includes written or 

14 printed materials, photographs, tapes, or mate15 rials upon which information is electronically or 

16 magnetically recorded. Such demands are aimed 

17 at the Attorney General having the ability to in18 spect and obtain copies of relevant materials (as 

19 well as obtain information) related to voting 

20 and are not aimed at the Attorney General tak21 ing possession of original records, particularly 

22 those that are required to be retained by State 

23 and local election officials under Federal or 

24 State law. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
66 

•HR 14 IH

1 ‘‘(B) NO REQUIREMENT FOR PRODUC2 TION.—Any demand issued under paragraph 

3 (1) may not require the production of any docu4 mentary material or the submission of any an5 swers in writing to written questions if such 

6 material or answers would be protected from 

7 disclosure under the standards applicable to 

8 discovery requests under the Federal Rules of 

9 Civil Procedure in an action in which the Attor10 ney General or the United States is a party. 

11 ‘‘(C) DOCUMENTARY MATERIAL.—If the 

12 demand issued under paragraph (1) requires 

13 the production of documentary material, it 

14 shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) identify the class of documentary 

16 material to be produced with such definite17 ness and certainty as to permit such mate18 rial to be fairly identified; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) prescribe a return date for pro20 duction of the documentary material at 

21 least twenty days after issuance of the de22 mand to give the State or political subdivi23 sion, or other governmental representative 

24 or agent, a reasonable period of time for 

25 assembling the documentary material and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
67 

•HR 14 IH

1 making it available for inspection and 

2 copying. 

3 ‘‘(D) ANSWERS TO WRITTEN QUES4 TIONS.—If the demand issued under paragraph 

5 (1) requires answers in writing to written ques6 tions, it shall— 

7 ‘‘(i) set forth with specificity the writ8 ten question to be answered; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) prescribe a date at least twenty 

10 days after the issuance of the demand for 

11 submitting answers in writing to the writ12 ten questions. 

13 ‘‘(E) SERVICE.—A demand issued under 

14 paragraph (1) may be served by a United 

15 States marshal or a deputy marshal, or by cer16 tified mail, at any place within the territorial 

17 jurisdiction of any court of the United States. 

18 ‘‘(3) RESPONSES TO AN ATTORNEY GENERAL

19 DEMAND.—A State or political subdivision, or other 

20 governmental representative or agent, must, with re21 spect to any documentary material or any answer in 

22 writing produced under this subsection, provide a 

23 sworn certificate, in such form as the demand issued 

24 under paragraph (1) designates, by a person having 

25 knowledge of the facts and circumstances relating to 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
68 

•HR 14 IH

1 such production or written answer, authorized to act 

2 on behalf of the State or political subdivision, or 

3 other governmental representative or agent, upon 

4 which the demand was served. The certificate— 

5 ‘‘(A) shall state that— 

6 ‘‘(i) all of the documentary material 

7 required by the demand and in the posses8 sion, custody, or control of the State or po9 litical subdivision, or other governmental 

10 representative or agent, has been produced; 

11 ‘‘(ii) that with respect to every answer 

12 in writing to a written question, all infor13 mation required by the question and in the 

14 possession, custody, control, or knowledge 

15 of the State or political subdivision, or 

16 other governmental representative or 

17 agent, has been submitted; or 

18 ‘‘(iii) both; or 

19 ‘‘(B) provide the basis for any objection to 

20 producing the documentary material or answer21 ing the written question. 

22 To the extent that any information is not furnished, 

23 the information shall be identified and reasons set 

24 forth with particularity regarding the reasons why 

25 the information was not furnished. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
69 

•HR 14 IH

1 ‘‘(4) JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) PETITION FOR ENFORCEMENT.— 

3 Whenever any State or political subdivision, or 

4 other governmental representative or agent, 

5 fails to comply with demand issued by the At6 torney General under paragraph (1), the Attor7 ney General may file, in a district court of the 

8 United States in which the State or political 

9 subdivision, or other governmental representa10 tive or agent, is located, a petition for a judicial 

11 order enforcing the Attorney General demand 

12 issued under paragraph (1). 

13 ‘‘(B) PETITION TO MODIFY.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any State or po15 litical subdivision, or other governmental 

16 representative or agent, that is served with 

17 a demand issued by the Attorney General 

18 under paragraph (1) may file in the United 

19 States District Court for the District of 

20 Columbia a petition for an order of the 

21 court to modify or set aside the demand of 

22 the Attorney General. 

23 ‘‘(ii) PETITION TO MODIFY.—Any pe24 tition to modify or set aside a demand of 

25 the Attorney General issued under paraVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00069 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H14.IH H14

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
70 

•HR 14 IH

1 graph (1) must be filed within 20 days 

2 after the date of service of the Attorney 

3 General’s demand or at any time before 

4 the return date specified in the Attorney 

5 General’s demand, whichever date is ear6 lier. 

7 ‘‘(iii) CONTENTS OF PETITION.—The 

8 petition shall specify each ground upon 

9 which the petitioner relies in seeking relief 

10 under clause (i), and may be based upon 

11 any failure of the Attorney General’s de12 mand to comply with the provisions of this 

13 section or upon any constitutional or other 

14 legal right or privilege of the State or po15 litical subdivision, or other governmental 

16 representative or agent. During the pend17 ency of the petition in the court, the court 

18 may stay, as it deems proper, the running 

19 of the time allowed for compliance with the 

20 Attorney General’s demand, in whole or in 

21 part, except that the State or political sub22 division, or other governmental representa23 tive or agent, filing the petition shall com24 ply with any portions of the Attorney GenVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00070 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H14.IH H14

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
71 

•HR 14 IH

1 eral’s demand not sought to be modified or 

2 set aside.’’. 

3 SEC. 13. DEFINITIONS. 

4 Title I of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 

5 10301) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 21. DEFINITIONS. 

7 ‘‘In this Act: 

8 ‘‘(1) INDIAN.—The term ‘Indian’ has the mean9 ing given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self10 Determination and Education Assistance Act. 

11 ‘‘(2) INDIAN LANDS.—The term ‘Indian lands’ 

12 means— 

13 ‘‘(A) any Indian country of an Indian 

14 tribe, as such term is defined in section 1151 

15 of title 18, United States Code; 

16 ‘‘(B) any land in Alaska that is owned, 

17 pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settle18 ment Act, by an Indian tribe that is a Native 

19 village (as such term is defined in section 3 of 

20 such Act), or by a Village Corporation that is 

21 associated with the Indian tribe (as such term 

22 is defined in section 3 of such Act); 

23 ‘‘(C) any land on which the seat of govern24 ment of the Indian tribe is located; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
72 

•HR 14 IH

1 ‘‘(D) any land that is part or all of a tribal 

2 designated statistical area associated with the 

3 Indian tribe, or is part or all of an Alaska Na4 tive village statistical area associated with the 

5 tribe, as defined by the Bureau of the Census 

6 for the purposes of the most recent decennial 

7 census. 

8 ‘‘(3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ or 

9 ‘tribe’ has the meaning given the term ‘Indian tribe’ 

10 in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 

11 Education Assistance Act. 

12 ‘‘(4) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘Tribal 

13 Government’ means the recognized governing body 

14 of an Indian Tribe. 

15 ‘‘(5) VOTING-AGE POPULATION.—The term 

16 ‘voting-age population’ means the numerical size of 

17 the population within a State, within a political sub18 division, or within a political subdivision that con19 tains Indian lands, as the case may be, that consists 

20 of persons age 18 or older, as calculated by the Bu21 reau of the Census under the most recent decennial 

22 census.’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
73 

•HR 14 IH

1 SEC. 14. ATTORNEYS’ FEES. 

2 Section 14(c) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 

3 U.S.C. 10310(c)) is amended by adding at the end the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(4) The term ‘prevailing party’ means a party to an 

6 action that receives at least some of the benefit sought 

7 by such action, states a colorable claim, and can establish 

8 that the action was a significant cause of a change to the 

9 status quo.’’. 

10 SEC. 15. OTHER TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND11 MENTS. 

12 (a) ACTIONS COVERED UNDER SECTION 3.—Section 

13 3(c) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 

14 10302(c)) is amended— 

15 (1) by striking ‘‘any proceeding instituted by 

16 the Attorney General or an aggrieved person under 

17 any statute to enforce’’ and inserting ‘‘any action 

18 under any statute in which a party (including the 

19 Attorney General) seeks to enforce’’; and 

20 (2) by striking ‘‘at the time the proceeding was 

21 commenced’’ and inserting ‘‘at the time the action 

22 was commenced’’. 

23 (b) CLARIFICATION OF TREATMENT OF MEMBERS OF

24 LANGUAGE MINORITY GROUPS.—Section 4(f) of such Act 

25 (52 U.S.C. 10303(f)) is amended— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
74 

•HR 14 IH

1 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking the second 

2 sentence; and 

3 (2) by striking paragraphs (3) and (4). 

4 (c) PERIOD DURING WHICH CHANGES IN VOTING

5 PRACTICES ARE SUBJECT TO PRECLEARANCE UNDER

6 SECTION 5.—Section 5 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 10304) 

7 is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘based upon 

9 determinations made under the first sentence of sec10 tion 4(b) are in effect’’ and inserting ‘‘are in effect 

11 during a calendar year’’; 

12 (2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘November 1, 

13 1964’’ and all that follows through ‘‘November 1, 

14 1972’’ and inserting ‘‘the applicable date of cov15 erage’’; and 

16 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub17 section: 

18 ‘‘(e) The term ‘applicable date of coverage’ means, 

19 with respect to a State or political subdivision— 

20 ‘‘(1) June 25, 2013, if the most recent deter21 mination for such State or subdivision under section 

22 4(b) was made on or before December 31, 2021; or 

23 ‘‘(2) the date on which the most recent deter24 mination for such State or subdivision under section 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
75 

•HR 14 IH

1 4(b) was made, if such determination was made 

2 after December 31, 2021.’’. 

3 SEC. 16. SEVERABILITY. 

4 If any provision of this Act or any amendment made 

5 by this Act, or the application of such a provision or 

6 amendment to any person or circumstance, is held to be 

7 unconstitutional or is otherwise enjoined or unenforceable, 

8 the remainder of this Act and amendments made by this 

9 Act, and the application of the provisions and amendment 

10 to any person or circumstance, and any remaining provi11 sion of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, shall not be af12 fected by the holding. 

13 SEC. 17. GRANTS TO ASSIST WITH NOTICE REQUIREMENTS 

14 UNDER THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall make 

16 grants each fiscal year to small jurisdictions who submit 

17 applications under subsection (b) for purposes of assisting 

18 such small jurisdictions with compliance with the require19 ments of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to submit or pub20 lish notice of any change to a qualification, prerequisite, 

21 standard, practice or procedure affecting voting. 

22 (b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible for a grant under 

23 this section, a small jurisdiction shall submit an applica24 tion to the Attorney General in such form and containing 

25 such information as the Attorney General may require reVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00075 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H14.IH H14

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
76 

•HR 14 IH

1 garding the compliance of such small jurisdiction with the 

2 provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 

3 (c) SMALL JURISDICTION DEFINED.—For purposes 

4 of this section, the term ‘‘small jurisdiction’’ means any 

5 political subdivision of a State with a population of 10,000 

6 or less. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB