{"bills":[{"photos":{"featured":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/hr4-116/featured_voting-rights-advancement-act-of-2019-1575676928.jpg","featured_large":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/hr4-116/featured_large_voting-rights-advancement-act-of-2019-1575676928.jpg","shareable":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/bills/hr4-116.png"},"introduced_on":"2019-02-26","title_override":"Should the Voting Rights Act be Strengthened?","summary_override":"

This bill — the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019 — would seek to restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965 after the 2013 Shelby County v. Holder ruling, which struck down one of the VRA’s key provisions. It would aim to accomplish that through the establishment of new criteria for requiring preclearance of changes to voting practices in states and political subdivisions of states.

Under this bill, a state and all of its political subdivisions would be subject to preclearance of voting practice changes for a 10-year period if:

15 or more voting rights violations occurred in the state during the previous 25 years; or
10 or more violations, at least one of which was committed by the state itself, occurred during the previous 25 years.

Additionally, a political subdivision would also be subject to preclearance for a 10-year period if three or more voting rights violations occurred there during the previous 25 years.

A state or political subdivision that obtains a declaratory judgment that it has not used a voting practice to deny or abridge the right to vote would be exempt from preclearance.

Furthermore, this bill would specify that certain practices that are known to be discriminatory must be must be precleared before any jurisdictions implement them. These policies would include the creation of at-large districts, provision of inadequate multilingual voting materials, and cuts to polling places.

The bill would also expand the circumstances under which a court may retain the authority to preclear voting changes made by a state or political subdivision, or the Dept. of Justice (DOJ) may assign election observers to enforce the guarantees of the 14th or 15th Amendments or any other federal law protecting U.S. citizens’ right to vote.

This bill would also require states and political subdivisions to notify the public of changes to voting practices. Finally, it would revise the circumstances under which a court must grant preliminary injunctive relief in a challenge to voting practices.

Under the terms of this bill, 11 states — Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia — would be identified as meriting a return to federal oversight of any electoral changes they want to make.

","official_title":"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.","short_title":"Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019","popular_title":null,"short_summary":"Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019 This bill establishes new criteria for determining which states and political subdivisions must obtain preclearance before changes to voting practices in these areas may take effect. (Preclearance is the process of receiving preapproval from the Department of Justice or the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before making legal changes that would affect voting rights.) A state and all of its political subdivisions shall be subject to preclea...","summarized":true,"cost":null,"cost_commentary":"A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.","impact":"Voters; election districts; election officials; states’ political subdivisions; states; elections; and voter protections.","argument_for":"The Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in Shelby County vs. Holder severely weakened the Voting Rights Act (VRA), which up until then had been the key protection ensuring that everyone — particularly minorities — gets the same access to the ballot box. This bill would help to ensure that states with a history of voter suppression don’t take steps to restrict voting access in future elections.","argument_against":"The Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in Shelby County vs. Holder was properly decided, as the Court ruled that the VRA’s requirements were no longer needed given changes to the law and the U.S. itself since the VRA’s enactment in 1965. 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Should the Voting Rights Act be Strengthened?