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relief will be less than the hardship which would be im-
posed upon the plaintiff if the relief were not granted. In 
balancing the harms, the court shall give due weight to 
the fundamental right to cast an effective ballot. 
‘‘(B) In making its determination under this para-
graph with respect to a change in any voting qualification, 
prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure 
with respect to voting, the court shall consider all relevant 
factors and give due weight to the following factors, if they 
are present: 
‘‘(i) Whether the qualification, prerequisite, 
standard, practice, or procedure in effect prior to the 
change was adopted as a remedy for a Federal court 
judgment, consent decree, or admission regarding— 
‘‘(I) discrimination on the basis of race or 
color in violation of the 14th or 15th Amend-
ment; 
‘‘(II) a violation of this Act; or 
‘‘(III) voting discrimination on the basis of 
race, color, or membership in a language minor-
ity group in violation of any other Federal or 
State law. 
‘‘(ii) Whether the qualification, prerequisite, 
standard, practice, or procedure in effect prior to the 
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change served as a ground for the dismissal or set-
tlement of a claim alleging— 
‘‘(I) discrimination on the basis of race or 
color in violation of the 14th or 15th Amend-
ment; 
‘‘(II) a violation of this Act; or 
‘‘(III) voting discrimination on the basis of 
race, color, or membership in a language minor-
ity group in violation of any other Federal or 
State law. 
‘‘(iii) Whether the change was adopted fewer 
than 180 days before the date of the election with 
respect to which the change is to take effect. 
‘‘(iv) Whether the defendant has failed to pro-
vide timely or complete notice of the adoption of the 
change as required by applicable Federal or State 
law.’’. 
(c) GROUNDS FOR STAY OR INTERLOCUTORY AP-
PEAL.—Section 12(d) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 10308(d)) 
is further amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) A jurisdiction’s inability to enforce its voting or 
election laws, regulations, policies, or redistricting plans, 
standing alone, shall not be deemed to constitute irrep-
arable harm to the public interest or to the interests of 
a defendant in an action arising under the U.S. Constitu-
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tion or any Federal law that prohibits discrimination on 
the basis of race, color, or membership in a language mi-
nority group in the voting process, for the purposes of de-
termining whether a stay of a court’s order or an inter-
locutory appeal under section 1253 of title 28, United 
States Code, is warranted.’’. 
SEC. 8. 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; 
‘‘(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 
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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 
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-
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reau of the Census under the most recent decennial 
census.’’. 
SEC. 9. 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. 10. 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 
(2) by striking ‘‘at the time the proceeding was 
commenced’’ and inserting ‘‘at the time the action 
was commenced’’. 
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(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— 
‘‘(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, 2019; or 
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‘‘(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, 2019.’’. 
Passed the House of Representatives December 6, 
2019. 
Attest: 
CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 
Clerk. 
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