I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2978 
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 
JUNE 21, 2017 
Ms. SEWELL of Alabama (for herself, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. 
MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of New Mexico, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. 
CLYBURN, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. HOYER, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. 
BARRAGA´N, Ms. BASS, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BERA, Mr. BEYER, Mr. 
BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. 
BONAMICI, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. BRADY of 
Pennsylvania, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, 
Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. 
CA´RDENAS, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Ms. CASTOR of 
Florida, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Ms. CLARKE of 
New York, Mr. CLAY, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. COSTA, Mr. 
CRIST, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, 
Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. DELANEY, 
Ms. DELAURO, Ms. DELBENE, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mr. DEUTCH, Mrs. DIN-
GELL, Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. 
ENGEL, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. EVANS, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. 
FRANKEL of Florida, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. 
AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. 
GUTIE´RREZ, Ms. HANABUSA, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. HECK, Mr. HIGGINS of 
New York, Ms. NORTON, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. 
JAYAPAL, Mr. JEFFRIES, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. 
JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. KEATING, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, 
Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. KIHUEN, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. KILMER, 
Mr. KIND, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. LARSEN 
of Washington, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. 
LAWSON of Florida, Ms. LEE, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. TED LIEU of California, 
Mr. LOEBSACK, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. BEN 
RAY LUJA´N of New Mexico, Mr. LYNCH, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of 
New York, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. 
MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCEACHIN, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. 
MEEKS, Ms. MENG, Ms. MOORE, Mr. MOULTON, Mrs. MURPHY of Flor-
ida, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. NOLAN, Mr. NORCROSS, Mr. 
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O’HALLERAN, Mr. O’ROURKE, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. PAS-
CRELL, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mr. PETERS, Ms. PINGREE, Ms. 
PLASKETT, Mr. POCAN, Mr. POLIS, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. 
QUIGLEY, Mr. RASKIN, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. RICHMOND, Ms. 
ROSEN, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. RUSH, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Ms. 
SA´NCHEZ, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. SCHNEI-
DER, Mr. SCHRADER, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Geor-
gia, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. SIRES, Ms. 
SLAUGHTER, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. SOTO, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. 
SUOZZI, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. THOMPSON of 
Mississippi, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Ms. TITUS, Mrs. TORRES, Ms. 
TSONGAS, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. VELA, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. 
WALZ, Ms. WASSERMAN
SCHULTZ, Mrs. WATSON
COLEMAN, Mr. 
WELCH, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. HIMES, Mr. DOG-
GETT, Mr. COOPER, Mr. TONKO, Mr. AGUILAR, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. 
KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. ESTY of Connecticut, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. 
COURTNEY, Mr. CORREA, and Mr. RUIZ) 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 sub-
divisions are subject to section 4 of the Act, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Voting Rights Ad-
vancement Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. VOTING ON INDIAN LANDS. 
Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 
U.S.C. 1973) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(c) VOTING ON INDIAN LANDS.— 
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‘‘(1) TRIBAL REQUESTS FOR POLLING PLACES; 
POLLING PLACE PROVIDED.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A representative offi-
cial of an Indian tribe, with authorization from 
the governing body of the tribe, may request 
one or more polling places to be located on the 
Indian lands of the Indian tribe. Such request 
shall be delivered in writing to the State or po-
litical subdivision with responsibility for assign-
ing polling places at least 6 months prior to the 
next election for which the request is made, and 
shall specify the location of each requested poll-
ing place. 
‘‘(B) POLLING PLACES PROVIDED.—Each 
requested polling place shall be provided by the 
State or political subdivision in response to a 
request made under paragraph (1), at no ex-
pense to the Indian tribe, if the voting-age pop-
ulation within the geographic area of the Indian 
lands relevant to the requested polling place is 
at least equal to the smallest voting-age popu-
lation served by any other polling place in the 
State. Each polling place that is provided under 
this subparagraph shall continue to be provided 
after the election for which the request was 
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made, until such time as the Indian tribe that 
requested that polling place delivers a written 
request to the State or political subdivision ask-
ing that such polling place be withdrawn. 
‘‘(C) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 
in this paragraph shall be construed to prevent 
a State or political subdivision from providing 
additional polling places on Indian lands if no 
request was made under subparagraph (A), or 
if such request was made less than 6 months 
prior to the next election for which the request 
was made. 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT
TO
PROVIDE
EQUITABLE 
POLLING LOCATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State or political 
subdivision shall provide the same ratio of poll 
workers and voting devices, the same rate of 
pay to poll workers, and the same days and 
hours of operation, for polling places that are 
located on Indian lands as are provided in other 
locations of polling places in the State or polit-
ical subdivision. 
‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY TO VOTE AT A POLLING 
LOCATION.—A polling place located on Indian 
lands shall be open to voting by all persons who 
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are otherwise eligible to vote residing within the 
precinct, voting unit, or electoral district. 
‘‘(C) 
FEDERAL
FACILITIES.—Polling 
places located on Indian lands may be des-
ignated at— 
‘‘(i) a Federal facility, such as Indian 
Health Service or Bureau of Indian Affairs 
service buildings; 
‘‘(ii) any tribal government facility 
that meets the requirements of Federal 
and State law applied to other polling loca-
tions within the State; 
‘‘(iii) a tribally owned building; or 
‘‘(iv) another facility that meets the 
requirements for polling places in the 
State. 
‘‘(3) ABSENTEE
BALLOTS
AND
EARLY
VOT-
ING.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A representative offi-
cial of an Indian tribe, with authorization from 
the governing body of the Indian tribe, may de-
liver a request to the appropriate State or polit-
ical subdivision that a location on Indian lands 
be designated as an absentee ballot location or 
an early voting location, and such State or po-
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litical subdivision shall grant the request, at no 
expense to the Indian tribe, if— 
‘‘(i) the requested location on Indian 
lands is in a State that permits voting by 
an absentee or mail-in ballot or early vot-
ing (also called absentee in-person voting), 
as the case may be; and 
‘‘(ii) the voting-age population within 
the geographic area of Indian lands rel-
evant to the requested absentee ballot loca-
tion or early voting location is at least 
equal to the smallest voting-age population 
served by any other absentee ballot loca-
tion or early voting location in the State. 
‘‘(B) INDIAN LANDS AS ABSENTEE BALLOT 
LOCATION.—If a location on Indian lands is 
designated as an absentee ballot location or an 
early voting location, absentee ballots, or early 
ballots, as the case may be, shall be provided, 
at no expense to the Indian tribe, to each reg-
istered voter living in such designated location 
without the requirement of an excuse for an ab-
sentee ballot or early voting. Bilingual election 
materials and oral language assistance shall be 
provided if required by section 203. 
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‘‘(4) TRIBAL REQUESTS FOR VOTER REGISTRA-
TION AGENCIES.—A representative official of an In-
dian tribe, with authorization from the governing 
body of the tribe, may request that tribal govern-
ment service offices be designated as voter registra-
tion agencies under section 7 of the National Voter 
Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20506). Such 
a request shall be delivered in writing to the State 
or political subdivision with responsibility for assign-
ing polling locations at least 6 months prior to the 
next election for which the request is made. Such a 
request shall be granted if the tribal government 
service office meets the requirements of Federal and 
State law applied to other designated voter registra-
tion agencies within the State.’’. 
SEC. 3. VIOLATIONS TRIGGERING AUTHORITY OF COURT 
TO RETAIN JURISDICTION. 
(a) TYPES OF VIOLATIONS.—Section 3(c) of the Vot-
ing Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10302(c)) is amended 
by striking ‘‘violations of the fourteenth or fifteenth 
amendment’’ and inserting ‘‘violations of the 14th or 15th 
Amendment, violations of this Act, or violations of any 
Federal law that prohibits discrimination in voting on the 
basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority 
group,’’. 
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(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3(a) of 
such Act (52 U.S.C. 10302(a)) is amended by striking 
‘‘violations of the fourteenth or fifteenth amendment’’ and 
inserting ‘‘violations of the 14th or 15th Amendment, vio-
lations of this Act, or violations of any Federal law that 
prohibits discrimination in voting on the basis of race, 
color, or membership in a language minority group,’’. 
SEC. 4. CRITERIA FOR COVERAGE OF STATES AND POLIT-
ICAL SUBDIVISIONS. 
(a) DETERMINATION
OF STATES
AND POLITICAL 
SUBDIVISIONS SUBJECT TO SECTION 4(a).— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(b) of the Voting 
Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10303(b)) is amend-
ed to read as follows: 
‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF STATES AND POLITICAL 
SUBDIVISIONS SUBJECT TO REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) EXISTENCE
OF
VOTING
RIGHTS
VIOLA-
TIONS DURING PREVIOUS 25 YEARS.— 
‘‘(A) 
STATEWIDE
APPLICATION.—Sub-
section (a) applies with respect to a State and 
all political subdivisions within the State during 
a calendar year if— 
‘‘(i) 15 or more voting rights viola-
tions occurred in the State during the pre-
vious 25 calendar years; or 
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‘‘(ii) 10 or more voting rights viola-
tions occurred in the State during the pre-
vious 25 calendar years, at least one of 
which was committed by the State itself 
(as opposed to a political subdivision with-
in the State). 
‘‘(B) APPLICATION TO SPECIFIC POLITICAL 
SUBDIVISIONS.—Subsection (a) applies with re-
spect to a political subdivision as a separate 
unit during a calendar year if 3 or more voting 
rights violations occurred in the subdivision 
during the previous 25 calendar years. 
‘‘(2) PERIOD OF APPLICATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), if, pursuant to paragraph 
(1), subsection (a) applies with respect to a 
State or political subdivision during a calendar 
year, subsection (a) shall apply with respect to 
such State or political subdivision for the pe-
riod— 
‘‘(i) that begins on January 1 of the 
year in which subsection (a) applies; and 
‘‘(ii) that ends on the date which is 10 
years after the date described in clause (i). 
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‘‘(B) NO
FURTHER
APPLICATION
AFTER 
DECLARATORY JUDGMENT.— 
‘‘(i) STATES.—If a State obtains a de-
claratory judgment under subsection (a), 
and the judgment remains in effect, sub-
section (a) shall no longer apply to such 
State pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) unless, 
after the issuance of the declaratory judg-
ment, paragraph (1)(A) applies to the 
State solely on the basis of voting rights 
violations occurring after the issuance of 
the declaratory judgment. 
‘‘(ii) POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS.—If a 
political subdivision obtains a declaratory 
judgment under subsection (a), and the 
judgment remains in effect, subsection (a) 
shall no longer apply to such political sub-
division pursuant to paragraph (1), includ-
ing pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) (relating 
to the statewide application of subsection 
(a)), unless, after the issuance of the de-
claratory judgment, paragraph (1)(B) ap-
plies to the political subdivision solely on 
the basis of voting rights violations occur-
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ring after the issuance of the declaratory 
judgment. 
‘‘(3) DETERMINATION OF VOTING RIGHTS VIO-
LATION.—For purposes of paragraph (1), a voting 
rights violation occurred in a State or political sub-
division if any of the following applies: 
‘‘(A) FINAL
JUDGMENT; VIOLATION
OF 
THE 14TH OR 15TH AMENDMENT.—In a final 
judgment (which has not been reversed on ap-
peal), any court of the United States has deter-
mined that a denial or abridgement of the right 
of any citizen of the United States to vote on 
account of race, color, or membership in a lan-
guage minority group, in violation of the 14th 
or 15th Amendment, occurred anywhere within 
the State or subdivision. 
‘‘(B) FINAL
JUDGMENT; VIOLATIONS
OF 
THIS ACT.—In a final judgment (which has not 
been reversed on appeal), any court of the 
United States has determined that a voting 
qualification or prerequisite to voting or stand-
ard, practice, or procedure with respect to vot-
ing was imposed or applied or would have been 
imposed or applied anywhere within the State 
or subdivision in a manner that resulted or 
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would have resulted in a denial or abridgement 
of the right of any citizen of the United States 
to vote on account of race, color, or membership 
in a language minority group, in violation of 
subsection (e) or (f), or section 2 or 203 of this 
Act. 
‘‘(C) FINAL JUDGMENT; DENIAL OF DE-
CLARATORY JUDGMENT.—In a final judgment 
(which has not been reversed on appeal), any 
court of the United States has denied the re-
quest of the State or subdivision for a declara-
tory judgment under section 3(c) or section 5, 
and thereby prevented a voting qualification or 
prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, or 
procedure with respect to voting from being en-
forced anywhere within the State or subdivision. 
‘‘(D) OBJECTION BY THE ATTORNEY GEN-
ERAL.—The Attorney General has interposed 
an objection under section 3(c) or section 5 
(and the objection has not been overturned by 
a final judgment of a court or withdrawn by the 
Attorney General), and thereby prevented a vot-
ing qualification or prerequisite to voting or 
standard, practice, or procedure with respect to 
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voting from being enforced anywhere within the 
State or subdivision. 
‘‘(E) CONSENT DECREE, SETTLEMENT, OR 
OTHER AGREEMENT.—A consent decree, settle-
ment, or other agreement was entered into, 
which resulted in the alteration or abandonment 
of a voting practice anywhere in the territory of 
such State that was challenged on the ground 
that the practice denied or abridged the right of 
any citizen of the United States to vote on ac-
count of race, color, or membership in a lan-
guage minority group in violation of subsection 
(e) or (f), or section 2 or 203 of this Act, or 
the 14th or 15th Amendment. 
‘‘(4) TIMING OF DETERMINATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) DETERMINATIONS OF VOTING RIGHTS 
VIOLATIONS.—As early as practicable during 
each calendar year, the Attorney General shall 
make the determinations required by this sub-
section, including updating the list of voting 
rights violations occurring in each State and po-
litical subdivision for the previous calendar 
year. 
‘‘(B) EFFECTIVE
UPON
PUBLICATION
IN 
FEDERAL REGISTER.—A determination or cer-
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(C) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘(in 
the case of a State or subdivision seeking a de-
claratory judgment under the second sentence 
of this subsection)’’; 
(D) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘(in 
the case of a State or subdivision seeking a de-
claratory judgment under the second sentence 
of this subsection)’’; 
(E) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘(in the 
case of a State or subdivision seeking a declara-
tory judgment under the second sentence of this 
subsection)’’; 
(F) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘(in the 
case of a State or subdivision which sought a 
declaratory judgment under the second sentence 
of this subsection)’’; 
(G) by striking paragraphs (7) and (8); 
and 
(H) by redesignating paragraph (9) as 
paragraph (7). 
(b) CLARIFICATION OF TREATMENT OF MEMBERS OF 
LANGUAGE MINORITY GROUPS.—Section 4(a)(1) of such 
Act (52 U.S.C. 10303(a)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘race 
or color,’’ and inserting ‘‘race, color, or in contravention 
of the guarantees of subsection (f)(2),’’. 
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