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(b) GROUNDS FOR EQUITABLE RELIEF.—In any ac-
tion for equitable relief pursuant to a law listed under sub-
section (a), proximity of the action to an election shall not 
be a valid reason to deny such relief, or stay the operation 
of or vacate the issuance of such relief, unless the party 
opposing the issuance or continued operation of relief 
meets the burden of proving by clear and convincing evi-
dence that the issuance of the relief would be so close in 
time to the election as to cause irreparable harm to the 
public interest or that compliance with such relief would 
impose serious burdens on the party opposing relief. 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In considering whether to 
grant, deny, stay, or vacate any order of equitable 
relief, the court shall give substantial weight to the 
public’s interest in expanding access to the right to 
vote. A State’s generalized interest in enforcing its 
enacted laws shall not be a relevant consideration in 
determining whether equitable relief is warranted. 
(2) PRESUMPTIVE SAFE HARBOR.—Where equi-
table relief is sought either within 30 days of the 
adoption or reasonable public notice of the chal-
lenged policy or practice, or more than 45 days be-
fore the date of an election to which the relief being 
sought will apply, proximity to the election will be 
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presumed not to constitute a harm to the public in-
terest or a burden on the party opposing relief. 
(c) GROUNDS FOR STAY OR VACATUR IN FEDERAL 
CLAIMS INVOLVING VOTING RIGHTS.— 
(1) PROSPECTIVE
EFFECT.—In reviewing an 
application for a stay or vacatur of equitable relief 
granted pursuant to a law listed in subsection (a), 
a court shall give substantial weight to the reliance 
interests of citizens who acted pursuant to such 
order under review. In fashioning a stay or vacatur, 
a reviewing court shall not order relief that has the 
effect of denying or abridging the right to vote of 
any citizen who has acted in reliance on the order. 
(2) WRITTEN
EXPLANATION.—No stay or 
vacatur under this subsection shall issue unless the 
reviewing court makes specific findings that the pub-
lic interest, including the public’s interest in expand-
ing access to the ballot, will be harmed by the con-
tinuing operation of the equitable relief or that com-
pliance with such relief will impose serious burdens 
on the party seeking such a stay or vacatur such 
that those burdens substantially outweigh the bene-
fits to the public interest. In reviewing an applica-
tion for a stay or vacatur of equitable relief, findings 
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of fact made in issuing the order under review shall 
not be set aside unless clearly erroneous. 
SEC. 12. ENFORCEMENT OF VOTING RIGHTS BY ATTORNEY 
GENERAL. 
Section 12 of the Voting Rights Act (52 U.S.C. 
10308), as amended by this Act, is further amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(g) VOTING RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY 
GENERAL.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to fulfill the At-
torney General’s responsibility to enforce the Voting 
Rights Act and other Federal civil rights statutes 
that protect the right to vote, the Attorney General 
(or upon designation by the Attorney General, the 
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights) is au-
thorized, before commencing a civil action, to issue 
a demand for inspection and information in writing 
to any State or political subdivision, or other govern-
mental representative or agent, with respect to any 
relevant documentary material that he has reason to 
believe is within their possession, custody, or control. 
A demand by the Attorney General under this sec-
tion may require— 
‘‘(A) the production of such documentary 
material for inspection and copying; 
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‘‘(B) answers in writing to written ques-
tions with respect to such documentary mate-
rial; or 
‘‘(C) both. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS
OF
AN
ATTORNEY
GENERAL 
DEMAND.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Any demand issued 
under paragraph (1), shall include a sworn cer-
tificate to identify the voting qualification or 
prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, or 
procedure with respect to voting, or other vot-
ing related matter or issue, whose lawfulness 
the Attorney General is investigating and to 
identify the civil provisions of the Federal civil 
rights statute that protects the right to vote 
under which the investigation is being con-
ducted. The demand shall be reasonably cal-
culated to lead to the discovery of documentary 
material and information relevant to such civil 
rights investigation. Documentary material in-
cludes any material upon which relevant infor-
mation is recorded, and includes written or 
printed materials, photographs, tapes, or mate-
rials upon which information is electronically or 
magnetically recorded. Such demands are aimed 
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at the Attorney General having the ability to in-
spect and obtain copies of relevant materials (as 
well as obtain information) related to voting 
and are not aimed at the Attorney General tak-
ing possession of original records, particularly 
those that are required to be retained by State 
and local election officials under Federal or 
State law. 
‘‘(B) NO
REQUIREMENT
FOR
PRODUC-
TION.—Any demand issued under paragraph 
(1) may not require the production of any docu-
mentary material or the submission of any an-
swers in writing to written questions if such 
material or answers would be protected from 
disclosure under the standards applicable to 
discovery requests under the Federal Rules of 
Civil Procedure in an action in which the Attor-
ney General or the United States is a party. 
‘‘(C) DOCUMENTARY
MATERIAL.—If the 
demand issued under paragraph (1) requires 
the production of documentary material, it 
shall— 
‘‘(i) identify the class of documentary 
material to be produced with such definite-
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ness and certainty as to permit such mate-
rial to be fairly identified; and 
‘‘(ii) prescribe a return date for pro-
duction of the documentary material at 
least twenty days after issuance of the de-
mand to give the State or political subdivi-
sion, or other governmental representative 
or agent, a reasonable period of time for 
assembling the documentary material and 
making it available for inspection and 
copying. 
‘‘(D) 
ANSWERS
TO
WRITTEN
QUES-
TIONS.—If the demand issued under paragraph 
(1) requires answers in writing to written ques-
tions, it shall— 
‘‘(i) set forth with specificity the writ-
ten question to be answered; and 
‘‘(ii) prescribe a date at least twenty 
days after the issuance of the demand for 
submitting answers in writing to the writ-
ten questions. 
‘‘(E) SERVICE.—A demand issued under 
paragraph (1) may be served by a United 
States marshal or a deputy marshal, or by cer-
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tified mail, at any place within the territorial 
jurisdiction of any court of the United States. 
‘‘(3) RESPONSES TO AN ATTORNEY GENERAL 
DEMAND.—A State or political subdivision, or other 
governmental representative or agent, must, with re-
spect to any documentary material or any answer in 
writing produced under this subsection, provide a 
sworn certificate, in such form as the demand issued 
under paragraph (1) designates, by a person having 
knowledge of the facts and circumstances relating to 
such production or written answer, authorized to act 
on behalf of the State or political subdivision, or 
other governmental representative or agent, upon 
which the demand was served. The certificate— 
‘‘(A) shall state that— 
‘‘(i) all of the documentary material 
required by the demand and in the posses-
sion, custody, or control of the State or po-
litical subdivision, or other governmental 
representative or agent, has been produced; 
‘‘(ii) that with respect to every answer 
in writing to a written question, all infor-
mation required by the question and in the 
possession, custody, control, or knowledge 
of the State or political subdivision, or 
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other 
governmental 
representative 
or 
agent, has been submitted; or 
‘‘(iii) both; or 
‘‘(B) provide the basis for any objection to 
producing the documentary material or answer-
ing the written question. 
To the extent that any information is not furnished, 
the information shall be identified and reasons set 
forth with particularity regarding the reasons why 
the information was not furnished. 
‘‘(4) JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS.— 
‘‘(A) PETITION
FOR
ENFORCEMENT.— 
Whenever any State or political subdivision, or 
other governmental representative or agent, 
fails to comply with demand issued by the At-
torney General under paragraph (1), the Attor-
ney General may file, in a district court of the 
United States in which the State or political 
subdivision, or other governmental representa-
tive or agent, is located, a petition for a judicial 
order enforcing the Attorney General demand 
issued under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(B) PETITION TO MODIFY.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any State or po-
litical subdivision, or other governmental 
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representative or agent, that is served with 
a demand issued by the Attorney General 
under paragraph (1) may file in the United 
States District Court for the District of 
Columbia a petition for an order of the 
court to modify or set aside the demand of 
the Attorney General. 
‘‘(ii) PETITION TO MODIFY.—Any pe-
tition to modify or set aside a demand of 
the Attorney General issued under para-
graph (1) must be filed within 20 days 
after the date of service of the Attorney 
General’s demand or at any time before 
the return date specified in the Attorney 
General’s demand, whichever date is ear-
lier. 
‘‘(iii) CONTENTS OF PETITION.—The 
petition shall specify each ground upon 
which the petitioner relies in seeking relief 
under clause (i), and may be based upon 
any failure of the Attorney General’s de-
mand to comply with the provisions of this 
section or upon any constitutional or other 
legal right or privilege of the State or po-
litical subdivision, or other governmental 
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representative or agent. During the pend-
ency of the petition in the court, the court 
may stay, as it deems proper, the running 
of the time allowed for compliance with the 
Attorney General’s demand, in whole or in 
part, except that the State or political sub-
division, or other governmental representa-
tive or agent, filing the petition shall com-
ply with any portions of the Attorney Gen-
eral’s demand not sought to be modified or 
set aside.’’. 
SEC. 13. DEFINITIONS. 
Title I of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 
10301) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 21. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this Act: 
‘‘(1) INDIAN.—The term ‘Indian’ has the mean-
ing given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self- 
Determination and Education Assistance Act. 
‘‘(2) INDIAN LANDS.—The term ‘Indian lands’ 
means— 
‘‘(A) any Indian country of an Indian 
tribe, as such term is defined in section 1151 
of title 18, United States Code; 
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‘‘(B) any land in Alaska that is owned, 
pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settle-
ment Act, by an Indian tribe that is a Native 
village (as such term is defined in section 3 of 
such Act), or by a Village Corporation that is 
associated with the Indian tribe (as such term 
is defined in section 3 of such Act); 
‘‘(C) any land on which the seat of govern-
ment of the Indian tribe is located; and 
‘‘(D) any land that is part or all of a tribal 
designated statistical area associated with the 
Indian tribe, or is part or all of an Alaska Na-
tive village statistical area associated with the 
tribe, as defined by the Bureau of the Census 
for the purposes of the most recent decennial 
census. 
‘‘(3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ or 
‘tribe’ has the meaning given the term ‘Indian tribe’ 
in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 
Education Assistance Act. 
‘‘(4) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘Tribal 
Government’ means the recognized governing body 
of an Indian Tribe. 
‘‘(5) VOTING-AGE
POPULATION.—The term 
‘voting-age population’ means the numerical size of 
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the population within a State, within a political sub-
division, or within a political subdivision that con-
tains Indian lands, as the case may be, that consists 
of persons age 18 or older, as calculated by the Bu-
reau of the Census under the most recent decennial 
census.’’. 
SEC. 14. ATTORNEYS’ FEES. 
Section 14(c) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 
U.S.C. 10310(c)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(4) The term ‘prevailing party’ means a party to an 
action that receives at least some of the benefit sought 
by such action, states a colorable claim, and can establish 
that the action was a significant cause of a change to the 
status quo.’’. 
SEC. 15. OTHER TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND-
MENTS. 
(a) ACTIONS COVERED UNDER SECTION 3.—Section 
3(c) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 
10302(c)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘any proceeding instituted by 
the Attorney General or an aggrieved person under 
any statute to enforce’’ and inserting ‘‘any action 
under any statute in which a party (including the 
Attorney General) seeks to enforce’’; and 
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(2) by striking ‘‘at the time the proceeding was 
commenced’’ and inserting ‘‘at the time the action 
was commenced’’. 
(b) CLARIFICATION OF TREATMENT OF MEMBERS OF 
LANGUAGE MINORITY GROUPS.—Section 4(f) of such Act 
(52 U.S.C. 10303(f)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking the second 
sentence; and 
(2) by striking paragraphs (3) and (4). 
(c) PERIOD DURING WHICH CHANGES IN VOTING 
PRACTICES ARE SUBJECT
TO PRECLEARANCE UNDER 
SECTION 5.—Section 5 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 10304) 
is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘based upon 
determinations made under the first sentence of sec-
tion 4(b) are in effect’’ and inserting ‘‘are in effect 
during a calendar year’’; 
(2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘November 1, 
1964’’ and all that follows through ‘‘November 1, 
1972’’ and inserting ‘‘the applicable date of cov-
erage’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(e) The term ‘applicable date of coverage’ means, 
with respect to a State or political subdivision— 
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‘‘(1) June 25, 2013, if the most recent deter-
mination for such State or subdivision under section 
4(b) was made on or before December 31, 2021; or 
‘‘(2) the date on which the most recent deter-
mination for such State or subdivision under section 
4(b) was made, if such determination was made 
after December 31, 2021.’’. 
SEC. 16. SEVERABILITY. 
If any provision of this Act or any amendment made 
by this Act, or the application of such a provision or 
amendment to any person or circumstance, is held to be 
unconstitutional or is otherwise enjoined or unenforceable, 
the remainder of this Act and amendments made by this 
Act, and the application of the provisions and amendment 
to any person or circumstance, and any remaining provi-
sion of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, shall not be af-
fected by the holding. 
SEC. 17. GRANTS TO ASSIST WITH NOTICE REQUIREMENTS 
UNDER THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall make 
grants each fiscal year to small jurisdictions who submit 
applications under subsection (b) for purposes of assisting 
such small jurisdictions with compliance with the require-
ments of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to submit or pub-
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lish notice of any change to a qualification, prerequisite, 
standard, practice or procedure affecting voting. 
(b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible for a grant under 
this section, a small jurisdiction shall submit an applica-
tion to the Attorney General in such form and containing 
such information as the Attorney General may require re-
garding the compliance of such small jurisdiction with the 
provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 
(c) SMALL JURISDICTION DEFINED.—For purposes 
of this section, the term ‘‘small jurisdiction’’ means any 
political subdivision of a State with a population of 10,000 
or less. 
Passed the House of Representatives August 24, 
2021. 
Attest: 
CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 
Clerk. 
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