‘‘(5) VOTING-AGE POPULATION.—The term ‘vot-
ing-age population’ means the numerical size of the 
population within a State, within a political subdivi-
sion, or within a political subdivision that contains 
Indian lands, as the case may be, that consists of per-
sons age 18 or older, as calculated by the Bureau 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 fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(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 
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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’’. 
(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 sen-
tence; and 
(2) by striking paragraphs (3) and (4). 
(c) PERIOD DURING WHICH CHANGES
IN VOTING 
PRACTICES ARE SUBJECT TO PRECLEARANCE UNDER SEC-
TION 5.—Section 5 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 10304) is amend-
ed— 
(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 coverage’’; 
and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
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‘‘(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 
‘‘(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.’’. 
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Union Calendar No. 258 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 4 
[Report No. 116–317] 
A BILL 
To amend the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to revise 
the criteria for determining which States and po-
litical subdivisions are subject to section 4 of the 
Act, and for other purposes. 
NOVEMBER 29, 2019 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
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