Senate Democrats Reintroduce John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act

On February 29, 2024, Senate Democrats reintroduced the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (VRAA), which, among other things, seeks to amend the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) to revise the coverage formula under Section 4 for determining which states and political subdivisions are subject to preclearance under Section 5 of the VRA.

Prior to the VRAA, in July 2023, Senate Democrats introduced the Freedom to Vote Act, which would expand voter registration and voting access, invest in state election infrastructure, strengthen campaign finance disclosure requirements, and protect against election interference.

History of the VRAA

The VRAA was initially drafted in response to the 2013 U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County v. Holder, which invalidated Section 4(b) of the VRA. In invalidating Section 4(b), which contained the coverage formula that determined which jurisdictions are subject to “preclearance” based on their histories of discrimination in voting under Section 5, the Court enabled all states to pass new election laws and procedures without approval from the federal government. Accordingly, in the aftermath of Shelby, several previously covered states enacted stricter voter I.D. laws, passed restrictions on early and absentee voting, and closed polling places. According to a recent report by the Brennan Center for Justice, by 2022, the turnout gap between Black and white voters in former Section 5 counties had grown by 11 percentage points since the Shelby decision. The VRAA aims to reinstate the preclearance requirement, with the goal of preventing racially discriminatory voting laws from taking effect.

The VRAA has been introduced several times but has failed to pass. On August 24, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the VRAA. However, the bill failed to pass the Senate after falling short of the 60 votes needed to end debate on the bill. Senate Democrats attempted to pass the bill again on January 19, 2022, as part of a combined bill with the Freedom to Vote Act, but again fell short of the votes needed to invoke cloture. Amidst their efforts to advance the voting rights legislation in 2022, Senate Democrats attempted to eliminate the 60-vote threshold to end debate, proposing a limited change to the rules that would have allowed the bill to move forward with a simple majority. However, with Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema withholding their support for the rule change, Democrats were unable to overcome the Republican opposition to ending debate.  This filibuster killed the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act, as it was called at the time.   

Notable VRAA Provisions

Below is a summary of some of the key provisions in the VRAA:

Restoring Federal Preclearance

• Geographic Coverage Formula: The VRAA modernizes the formula for determining which states and localities have a pattern of discrimination and are thus subject to preclearance. The bill thereby imposes preclearance on states with “15 or more voting rights violations” in the last 25 years, or 10 such violations, if “at least one of which was committed by the State itself.” It also requires preclearance for localities with three of more violations in the last 25 years.
• Practice-Based Preclearance: The VRAA would require preclearance for any election law or procedure, in any state or locality, relating to the following “covered practices”:
  • Changes to add seats elected at-large in states or localities with sufficiently large minority populations
  • Changes to political subdivision boundaries that reduce minority representation in states or localities with sufficiently large minority populations
  • Changes through redistricting impacting states or localities with sufficiently large minority communities that experienced a significant growth in population
  • Changes in documentation or qualifications to vote (i.e. voter ID laws)
  • Changes reducing multilingual voting materials or altering the manner in which such materials are provided or distributed
  • Changes that reduce, consolidate, or relocate polling locations or reduce voting opportunities
  • Changes to the maintenance process for voter registration lists that adds a new basis for removal from the list in jurisdictions with sufficiently large minority populations

Updates to Section 2 Vote Dilution and Vote Denial

Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibits voting practices or procedures that discriminate on the basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority group. While still on the books, this section has been eroded over time, most recently through the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2021 decision in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee. The VRAA sets out to strengthen this provision. Notably, it standardizes the “totality of the circumstances” analysis used to evaluate potential violations by codifying the nine Senate Factors, derived from the Senate report accompanying the 1982 amendments to the VRA, that were adopted by the Supreme Court in Thornburg v. Gingles.

Retrogression

The VRAA expands Section 2 to bar the enactment of any voting law that has the purpose or will have the effect of diminishing the ability of voters of color to participate in the electoral process or elect their preferred candidates. 

Transparency

The VRAA would impose new notice and disclosure requirements on states for: (1) changes to voting rules or procedures that are adopted within 180 days of an election for federal office; (2) polling place resources; and (3) redistricting, reapportionment, and other changes in voting districts involving federal, state, and local elections. Compliance with these transparency provisions would be voluntary for smaller jurisdictions.

Election Worker and Polling Place Protection

This Act would also incorporate the Election Worker and Polling Place Protection Act, which expands and clarifies protections for election workers, polling places, and other election infrastructure against threats, harassment, and violence. Damages or threats to property in violation of the statute are punishable by a fine, up to six months imprisonment, or both, and serious injury against persons are punishable by fine, up to one year imprisonment, or both.

You can read the full text of the bill here.