8(a)(2)(B) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 
10305(a)(2)(B)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(B) in the Attorney General’s judgment, 
the assignment of observers is otherwise necessary 
to enforce the guarantees of the 14th or 15th 
Amendment or any provision of this Act or any 
other Federal law protecting the right of citizens 
of the United States to vote; or’’. 
(b) ASSIGNMENT OF OBSERVERS TO ENFORCE BILIN-
GUAL ELECTION REQUIREMENTS.—Section 8(a) of such Act 
(52 U.S.C. 10305(a)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph (1); 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(3) the Attorney General certifies with respect 
to a political subdivision that— 
‘‘(A) the Attorney General has received 
written meritorious complaints from residents, 
elected officials, or civic participation organiza-
tions that efforts to violate section 203 are likely 
to occur; or 
‘‘(B) in the Attorney General’s judgment, 
the assignment of observers is necessary to en-
force the guarantees of section 203;’’; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:32 Nov 29, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00031
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H4.RH
H4
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
(3) by moving the margin for the continuation 
text following paragraph (3), as added by paragraph 
(2) of this subsection, two ems to the left. 
SEC. 7. PRELIMINARY INJUNCTIVE RELIEF. 
(a) CLARIFICATION OF SCOPE AND PERSONS AUTHOR-
IZED TO SEEK RELIEF.—Section 12(d) of the Voting 
Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10308(d)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘section 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, or 
subsection (b) of this section’’ and inserting ‘‘the 14th 
or 15th Amendment, this Act, or any Federal voting 
rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis 
of race, color, or membership in a language minority 
group’’; and 
(2) by striking ‘‘the Attorney General may insti-
tute for the United States, or in the name of the 
United States,’’ and inserting ‘‘the aggrieved person 
or (in the name of the United States) the Attorney 
General may institute’’. 
(b) GROUNDS FOR GRANTING RELIEF.—Section 12(d) 
of such Act (52 U.S.C. 10308(d)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘(d) Whenever any person’’ and 
inserting ‘‘(d)(1) Whenever any person’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘(1) to permit’’ and inserting 
‘‘(A) to permit’’; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:32 Nov 29, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00032
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H4.RH
H4
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
(3) by striking ‘‘(2) to count’’ and inserting ‘‘(B) 
to count’’; and 
(4) by adding at the end the following new para-
graph: 
‘‘(2)(A) In any action for preliminary relief described 
in this subsection, the court shall grant the relief if the court 
determines that the complainant has raised a serious ques-
tion whether the challenged voting qualification or pre-
requisite to voting or standard, practice, or procedure vio-
lates this Act or the Constitution and, on balance, the hard-
ship imposed upon the defendant by the grant of the relief 
will be less than the hardship which would be imposed 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— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:32 Nov 29, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00033
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H4.RH
H4
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
‘‘(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 
change served as a ground for the dismissal or settle-
ment 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 re-
spect to which the change is to take effect. 
‘‘(iv) Whether the defendant has failed to provide 
timely or complete notice of the adoption of the 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:32 Nov 29, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00034
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H4.RH
H4
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
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 irreparable 
harm to the public interest or to the interests of a defendant 
in an action arising under the U.S. Constitution or any 
Federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of 
race, color, or membership in a language minority group 
in the voting process, for the purposes of determining wheth-
er a stay of a court’s order or an interlocutory 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-De-
termination and Education Assistance Act. 
‘‘(2) INDIAN LANDS.—The term ‘Indian lands’ 
means— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:32 Nov 29, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00035
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H4.RH
H4
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
‘‘(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 Settlement 
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 associ-
ated with the Indian tribe (as such term is de-
fined 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. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:32 Nov 29, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00036
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H4.RH
H4
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS