S 1419 · 115th Congress 2017–2019, ended

Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2017

Introduced Jun 22, 2017 Originated Senate Sponsor Patrick J. Leahy D-VT

Fact sheet Spreadsheet

Latest action · Jun 22, 2017 Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S3733-3734)

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

  1. IntroducedJun 22, 2017
  2. Passed SenateNot reached
  3. Passed HouseNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2017

This bill amends the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to allow a representative official of an Indian tribe, with authorization from the governing body of the tribe, to request one or more polling places to be located on tribal lands. The state or political subdivision shall provide each requested polling place at no expense to the Indian tribe if certain criteria are met.

A federal court shall retain jurisdiction to enforce constitutional voting guarantees, but also certain violations of the Act as well as of any federal prohibition against discrimination on the basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority group, for an appropriate period to prevent commencement of new devices to deny or abridge the right to vote.

Any state (and all of its political subdivisions) shall be subject to certain requirements for a 10-year period if:

  • 15 or more voting rights violations occurred there during the previous 25 years; or
  • 10 or more violations occurred during the previous 25 years, at least one of which was committed by the state itself (as opposed to a political subdivision within it).

A state or political subdivision that obtains a declaratory judgment that it has not used a device to deny or abridge the right to vote shall be exempt from such requirements unless as specified.

This bill prescribes transparency requirements regarding any changes to specified matters.

Department of Justice authority to assign observers receives new extensions.

Courts shall grant preliminary injunctive relief if a complainant raises a serious question whether the challenged covered practice violates the Act or the Constitution and, on balance, the hardship imposed upon the defendant by the relief will be less than the hardship on the plaintiff if the relief were not granted.

Cosponsors 49

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jun 22, 2017 to Aug 15, 2018; 46 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

SeatCosponsorSigned on
D-MNAl FrankenOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-MNAmy KlobucharOriginalJun 22, 2017
I-MEAngus S. King Jr.OriginalJun 22, 2017
D-MDBenjamin L. CardinOriginalJun 22, 2017
I-VTBernard SandersOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-FLBill NelsonOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-HIBrian SchatzOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-NVCatherine Cortez MastoOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-NYCharles E. SchumerOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-MDChris Van HollenOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-DEChristopher A. CoonsOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-CTChristopher MurphyOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-MOClaire McCaskillOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-NJCory A. BookerOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-MIDebbie StabenowOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-CADianne FeinsteinOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-MAEdward J. MarkeyOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-MAElizabeth WarrenOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-MIGary C. PetersOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-NDHeidi HeitkampOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-RIJack ReedOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-NHJeanne ShaheenOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-ORJeff MerkleyOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-INJoe DonnellyOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-MTJon TesterOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-CAKamala D. HarrisOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-NYKirsten E. GillibrandOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-NHMargaret Wood HassanOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-WAMaria CantwellOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-VAMark R. WarnerOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-NMMartin HeinrichOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-HIMazie K. HironoOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-COMichael F. BennetOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-WAPatty MurrayOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-CTRichard BlumenthalOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-ILRichard J. DurbinOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-NJRobert MenendezOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-PARobert P. Casey Jr.OriginalJun 22, 2017
D-ORRon WydenOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-RISheldon WhitehouseOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-OHSherrod BrownOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-WITammy BaldwinOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-ILTammy DuckworthOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-DEThomas R. CarperOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-VATim KaineOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-NMTom UdallOriginalJun 22, 2017
D-MNTina SmithJan 9, 2018
D-ALDoug JonesMar 12, 2018
R-AKLisa MurkowskiAug 15, 2018

Committees 1

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

ChamberCommitteeWhat it did
SenateJudiciary Committee
Referred Jun 22, 2017

Actions 2

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Jun 22, 2017Introduced in Senate
  2. Jun 22, 2017Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S3733-3734)

In the Congressional Record 1

Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.

WhereIn the RecordMembersDate
SenateDebate and remarks S3733Patrick J. Leahy D-VTJun 22, 2017

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

CRS reports 1

Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.

Cite it 1

Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.

Related bills 5

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

BillTitleRelationshipLatest action
S 561Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019Reintroduced BillFeb 26, 2019
S 1659Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2015Reintroduction ofJun 24, 2015
HR 2978Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2017Identical billJul 17, 2017
HR 3239Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2017Related billAug 3, 2017
S 4263John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement ActReintroduced BillJul 22, 2020

Titles 2

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced
A bill 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 Titles as Introduced
Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2017

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Jun 22, 2017Introduced in Senate

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.