Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019
Latest action · Jul 27, 2020 Pursuant to the provisions of H. Con. Res. 107, enrollment corrections on H.R. 4 have been made.
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.
- IntroducedFeb 26, 2019
- Passed HouseDec 6, 2019
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
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 preclearance of voting practice changes for a 10-year period if (1) 15 or more voting rights violations occurred in the state during the previous 25 years; or (2) 10 or more violations occurred during the previous 25 years, at least one of which was committed by the state itself. A political subdivision as a separate unit shall 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 shall be exempt from preclearance.
All jurisdictions must preclear changes to requirements for documentation to vote that make the requirements more stringent than federal requirements for voters who register by mail or state law.
The bill specifies practices jurisdictions meeting certain thresholds regarding racial minority groups, language minority groups, or minority groups on Indian land, must preclear before implementing. These practices include changes to methods of election, changes to jurisdiction boundaries, redistricting, changes to voting locations and opportunities, and changes to voter registration list maintenance.
The bill expands the circumstances under which (1) a court may retain the authority to preclear voting changes made by a state or political subdivision, or (2) the Department of Justice may assign election observers.
States and political subdivisions must notify the public of changes to voting practices.
The bill revises the circumstances under which a court must grant preliminary injunctive relief in a challenge to voting practices.
Recorded votes 2
Newest first. Open one to see how every member voted.
Cosponsors 229
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 26, 2019 to Nov 19, 2019; 207 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-VA | A. Donald McEachin | Original | Feb 26, 2019 |
| D-IA | Abby Finkenauer | Original | Feb 26, 2019 |
| D-VA | Abigail Davis Spanberger | Original | Feb 26, 2019 |
| D-CA | Adam B. Schiff | Original | Feb 26, 2019 |
| D-WA | Adam Smith | Original | Feb 26, 2019 |
| D-NY | Adriano Espaillat | Original | Feb 26, 2019 |
| D-TX | Al Green | Original | Feb 26, 2019 |
| D-FL | Al Lawson, Jr. | Original | Feb 26, 2019 |
| D-CA | Alan S. Lowenthal | Original | Feb 26, 2019 |
| D-NJ | Albio Sires | Original | Feb 26, 2019 |
| D-FL | Alcee L. Hastings | Original | Feb 26, 2019 |
| D-NY | Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez | Original | Feb 26, 2019 |
| D-NC | Alma S. Adams | Original | Feb 26, 2019 |
| D-CA | Ami Bera | Original | Feb 26, 2019 |
| D-IN | André Carson | Original | Feb 26, 2019 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Feb 26, 2019Markup Oct 23, 2019Reported Nov 29, 2019 |
| Constitution and Limited Government Subcommittee | Referred Mar 25, 2019Discharged Oct 22, 2019 | |
| Senate | Judiciary Committee | Referred Dec 9, 2019 |
Actions 23
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jul 27, 2020Pursuant to the provisions of H. Con. Res. 107, enrollment corrections on H.R. 4 have been made.
- Dec 9, 2019Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- Dec 6, 2019Considered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 741. (consideration: CR H9308-9330)
- Dec 6, 2019The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 4 under a closed rule with one hour of general debate. Also, the resolution provides for consideration of H. Res. 326 under a closed rule with one hour of general debate. The rule provides that the amendments to H. Res. 326 and preamble, modified by the amendments in Part B of the report are considered as adopted.
- Dec 6, 2019DEBATE - The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H.R. 4.
In the Congressional Record 15
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.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S5263 | Bernard Sanders I-VT | Aug 6, 2020 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S4529 | Richard J. Durbin D-IL | Jul 28, 2020 |
| House | Debate and remarks H3878Text printed H3878 | James E. Clyburn D-SC | Jul 27, 2020 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S4371 | Patrick J. Leahy D-VT | Jul 22, 2020 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S4313 | Richard J. Durbin D-IL | Jul 21, 2020 |
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.
Committee report
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 165, no. 35, February 26, 2019, page H2234.
Printed hearings 13
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 116-81 | SECURE, SAFE, AND AUDITABLE: PROTECTING THE INTEGRITY OF THE 2020 ELECTIONS54 pages | Homeland Security Committee | Aug 4, 2020 |
| Serial No. 116-92 | VOTER SUPPRESSION IN MINORITY COMMUNITIES: LEARNING FROM THE PAST TO PROTECT OUR FUTURE48 pages | Oversight and Government Reform Committee | Feb 26, 2020 |
| — | NATIVE AMERICAN VOTING RIGHTS: EXPLORING BARRIERS AND SOLUTIONS322 pages | Committee on House Administration | Feb 11, 2020 |
| Serial No. 116-57 | LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS TO STRENGTHEN THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT190 pages | Judiciary Committee | Oct 17, 2019 |
| — | VOTING RIGHTS AND ELECTION ADMINISTRATION IN AMERICA977 pages | Committee on House Administration | Oct 17, 2019 |
CRS reports 5
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
About this bill 1
Products that name it in their title: its number, its law number or one of its short titles.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| IF11908 | Voting Rights Act and H.R. 4 (117th Congress): An Overview Archived | Resource | Aug 20, 2021 |
Also cite it 4
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R47520 | The Voting Rights Act: Historical Development and Policy Background | Report | Jun 3, 2026 |
| R45951 | Apportionment and Redistricting Process for the U.S. House of Representatives | Report | May 20, 2026 |
| LSB10624 | Voting Rights Act: Supreme Court Provides “Guideposts” for Determining Violations of Section 2 in Brnovich v. DNC | Insight | Jul 14, 2021 |
| R46146 | Campaign and Election Security Policy: Overview and Recent Developments for Congress Archived | Report | Jan 2, 2020 |
Amendments 1
Amendments offered to this bill.
| Amendment | Description | Offered by | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| HAmdt 699 | Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 741, the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on the Judiciary printed in the bill, modified by the amendment printed in Part A of House Report 116-322 is considered to be adopted. | Rules Committee | On agreeing to the Rules amendment (A001) Agreed to by voice vote. |
Related bills 5
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HCONRES 107 | Directing the Clerk of the House to make a correction in the enrollment of H.R. 4. | Related bill | Jul 29, 2020 |
| S 561 | Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019 | Related bill | Feb 26, 2019 |
| HRES 741 | Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 4) 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, and providing for consideration of the resolution (H. Res. 326) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding United States efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a negotiated two-state solution. | Related bill | Dec 5, 2019 |
| HR 1799 | Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2019 | Related bill | May 3, 2019 |
| S 4263 | John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act | Related bill | Jul 22, 2020 |
Titles 5
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- 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(s) as Introduced
- Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019
- Short Title(s) as Reported to House
- Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019
- Short Title(s) as Passed House
- Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019
- Short Titles from RFS (Referred to Senate) bill text
- Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.
Text 4
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Dec 9, 2019Referred in Senate
- Dec 6, 2019Engrossed in House
- Nov 29, 2019Reported in House
- Feb 26, 2019Introduced in House
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.
