IIB 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 9, 2019 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary AN ACT 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. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 2 1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Voting Rights Ad- 3 vancement Act of 2019’’. 4 SEC. 2. VIOLATIONS TRIGGERING AUTHORITY OF COURT 5 TO RETAIN JURISDICTION. 6 (a) TYPES OF VIOLATIONS.—Section 3(c) of the Vot- 7 ing Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10302(c)) is amended 8 by striking ‘‘violations of the fourteenth or fifteenth 9 amendment’’ and inserting ‘‘violations of the 14th or 15th 10 Amendment, violations of this Act, or violations of any 11 Federal law that prohibits discrimination in voting on the 12 basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority 13 group,’’. 14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3(a) of 15 such Act (52 U.S.C. 10302(a)) is amended by striking 16 ‘‘violations of the fourteenth or fifteenth amendment’’ and 17 inserting ‘‘violations of the 14th or 15th Amendment, vio18 lations of this Act, or violations of any Federal law that 19 prohibits discrimination in voting on the basis of race, 20 color, or membership in a language minority group,’’. 21 SEC. 3. CRITERIA FOR COVERAGE OF STATES AND POLIT- 22 23 ICAL SUBDIVISIONS. (a) DETERMINATION OF STATES AND kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 24 SUBDIVISIONS SUBJECT TO SECTION 4(a).— HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 POLITICAL 3 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(b) of the Voting 2 Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10303(b)) is amend- 3 ed to read as follows: 4 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF STATES AND POLITICAL 5 SUBDIVISIONS SUBJECT TO REQUIREMENTS.— 6 7 ‘‘(1) EXISTENCE TIONS DURING PREVIOUS 25 YEARS.— 8 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS OF VOTING RIGHTS VIOLA- ‘‘(A) STATEWIDE APPLICATION.—Sub- 9 section (a) applies with respect to a State and 10 all political subdivisions within the State during 11 a calendar year if— 12 ‘‘(i) fifteen or more voting rights vio- 13 lations occurred in the State during the 14 previous 25 calendar years; or 15 ‘‘(ii) ten or more voting rights viola- 16 tions occurred in the State during the pre- 17 vious 25 calendar years, at least one of 18 which was committed by the State itself 19 (as opposed to a political subdivision with- 20 in the State). 21 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION 22 SUBDIVISIONS.—Subsection 23 spect to a political subdivision as a separate 24 unit during a calendar year if three or more TO SPECIFIC POLITICAL (a) applies with re- HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 4 1 voting rights violations occurred in the subdivi- 2 sion during the previous 25 calendar years. 3 ‘‘(2) PERIOD OF APPLICATION.— 4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except 5 subparagraph (B), if, pursuant to paragraph 6 (1), subsection (a) applies with respect to a 7 State or political subdivision during a calendar 8 year, subsection (a) shall apply with respect to 9 such State or political subdivision for the pe- 10 riod— 11 ‘‘(i) that begins on January 1 of the 12 year in which subsection (a) applies; and 13 ‘‘(ii) that ends on the date which is 10 14 years after the date described in clause (i). 15 ‘‘(B) NO 16 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS as provided in FURTHER APPLICATION AFTER DECLARATORY JUDGMENT.— 17 ‘‘(i) STATES.—If a State obtains a de- 18 claratory judgment under subsection (a), 19 and the judgment remains in effect, sub- 20 section (a) shall no longer apply to such 21 State pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) unless, 22 after the issuance of the declaratory judg- 23 ment, paragraph (1)(A) applies to the 24 State solely on the basis of voting rights HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 5 1 violations occurring after the issuance of 2 the declaratory judgment. 3 ‘‘(ii) POLITICAL political subdivision obtains a declaratory 5 judgment under subsection (a), and the 6 judgment remains in effect, subsection (a) 7 shall no longer apply to such political sub- 8 division pursuant to paragraph (1), includ- 9 ing pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) (relating 10 to the statewide application of subsection 11 (a)), unless, after the issuance of the de- 12 claratory judgment, paragraph (1)(B) ap- 13 plies to the political subdivision solely on 14 the basis of voting rights violations occur- 15 ring after the issuance of the declaratory 16 judgment. ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION OF VOTING RIGHTS VIO- 18 LATION.—For 19 rights violation occurred in a State or political sub- 20 division if any of the following applies: 21 purposes of paragraph (1), a voting ‘‘(A) FINAL JUDGMENT; VIOLATION OF 22 THE 14TH OR 15TH AMENDMENT.—In 23 judgment (which has not been reversed on ap- 24 peal), any court of the United States has deter- 25 mined that a denial or abridgement of the right HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 a 4 17 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS SUBDIVISIONS.—If 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 a final 6 1 of any citizen of the United States to vote on 2 account of race, color, or membership in a lan- 3 guage minority group, in violation of the 14th 4 or 15th Amendment, occurred anywhere within 5 the State or subdivision. 6 ‘‘(B) FINAL 7 THIS ACT.—In 8 been reversed on appeal), any court of the 9 United States has determined that a voting 10 qualification or prerequisite to voting or stand- 11 ard, practice, or procedure with respect to vot- 12 ing was imposed or applied or would have been 13 imposed or applied anywhere within the State 14 or subdivision in a manner that resulted or 15 would have resulted in a denial or abridgement 16 of the right of any citizen of the United States 17 to vote on account of race, color, or membership 18 in a language minority group, in violation of 19 subsection (e) or (f), or section 2 or 203 of this 20 Act. 21 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS JUDGMENT; VIOLATIONS OF a final judgment (which has not ‘‘(C) FINAL JUDGMENT; DENIAL OF DE- 22 CLARATORY JUDGMENT.—In 23 (which has not been reversed on appeal), any 24 court of the United States has denied the re- 25 quest of the State or subdivision for a declara- a final judgment HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 7 1 tory judgment under section 3(c) or section 5, 2 and thereby prevented a voting qualification or 3 prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, or 4 procedure with respect to voting from being en- 5 forced anywhere within the State or subdivision. kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 ‘‘(D) OBJECTION BY THE ATTORNEY GEN- 7 ERAL.—The 8 an objection under section 3(c) or section 5 9 (and the objection has not been overturned by 10 a final judgment of a court or withdrawn by the 11 Attorney General), and thereby prevented a vot- 12 ing qualification or prerequisite to voting or 13 standard, practice, or procedure with respect to 14 voting from being enforced anywhere within the 15 State or subdivision. 16 ‘‘(E) CONSENT 17 OTHER AGREEMENT.—A 18 ment, or other agreement was entered into, 19 which resulted in the alteration or abandonment 20 of a voting practice anywhere in the territory of 21 such State that was challenged on the ground 22 that the practice denied or abridged the right of 23 any citizen of the United States to vote on ac- 24 count of race, color, or membership in a lan- 25 guage minority group in violation of subsection Attorney General has interposed DECREE, SETTLEMENT, OR consent decree, settle- HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 8 1 (e) or (f), or section 2 or 203 of this Act, or 2 the 14th or 15th Amendment. 3 ‘‘(4) TIMING 4 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATIONS OF VOTING RIGHTS 5 VIOLATIONS.—As 6 each calendar year, the Attorney General shall 7 make the determinations required by this sub- 8 section, including updating the list of voting 9 rights violations occurring in each State and po- 10 litical subdivision for the previous calendar 11 year. 12 early as practicable during ‘‘(B) EFFECTIVE UPON PUBLICATION IN 13 FEDERAL REGISTER.—A 14 tification of the Attorney General under this 15 section or under section 8 or 13 shall be effec- 16 tive upon publication in the Federal Register.’’. 17 (2) CONFORMING 18 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS OF DETERMINATIONS.— determination or cer- AMENDMENTS.—Section of such Act (52 U.S.C. 10303(a)) is amended— 19 (A) in paragraph (1), in the first sentence 20 of the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by 21 striking ‘‘any State with respect to which’’ and 22 all that follows through ‘‘unless’’ and inserting 23 ‘‘any State to which this subsection applies dur- 24 ing a calendar year pursuant to determinations 25 made under subsection (b), or in any political HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 4(a) 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 9 1 subdivision of such State (as such subdivision 2 existed on the date such determinations were 3 made with respect to such State), though such 4 determinations were not made with respect to 5 such subdivision as a separate unit, or in any 6 political subdivision with respect to which this 7 subsection applies during a calendar year pur- 8 suant to determinations made with respect to 9 such subdivision as a separate unit under sub- kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 section (b), unless’’; 11 (B) in paragraph (1) in the matter pre- 12 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking the second 13 sentence; 14 (C) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘(in 15 the case of a State or subdivision seeking a de- 16 claratory judgment under the second sentence 17 of this subsection)’’; 18 (D) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘(in 19 the case of a State or subdivision seeking a de- 20 claratory judgment under the second sentence 21 of this subsection)’’; 22 (E) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘(in the 23 case of a State or subdivision seeking a declara- 24 tory judgment under the second sentence of this 25 subsection)’’; HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 10 1 (F) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘(in the 2 case of a State or subdivision which sought a 3 declaratory judgment under the second sentence 4 of this subsection)’’; 5 (G) by striking paragraphs (7) and (8); 6 and 7 (H) by redesignating paragraph (9) as 8 paragraph (7). 9 (b) CLARIFICATION OF TREATMENT OF MEMBERS OF 10 LANGUAGE MINORITY GROUPS.—Section 4(a)(1) of such 11 Act (52 U.S.C. 10303(a)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘race 12 or color,’’ and inserting ‘‘race, color, or in contravention 13 of the guarantees of subsection (f)(2),’’. 14 SEC. 4. DETERMINATION OF STATES AND POLITICAL SUB- 15 DIVISIONS SUBJECT TO PRECLEARANCE FOR 16 COVERED PRACTICES. 17 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et 18 seq.) is further amended by inserting after section 4 the 19 following: 20 ‘‘SEC. 4A. DETERMINATION OF STATES AND POLITICAL 21 SUBDIVISIONS SUBJECT TO PRECLEARANCE 22 FOR COVERED PRACTICES. 23 ‘‘(a) PRACTICE-BASED PRECLEARANCE.— kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 24 25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State and each polit- ical subdivision shall— HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 11 1 ‘‘(A) identify any newly enacted or adopted 2 law, regulation, or policy that includes a voting 3 qualification or prerequisite to voting, or a 4 standard, practice, or procedure with respect to 5 voting, that is a covered practice described in 6 subsection (b); and 7 ‘‘(B) ensure that no such covered practice 8 is implemented unless or until the State or po- 9 litical subdivision, as the case may be, complies 10 with subsection (c). 11 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATIONS 12 OF VOTING-AGE POPULATION.— 13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—As early as prac- 14 ticable during each calendar year, the Attorney 15 General, in consultation with the Director of 16 the Bureau of the Census and the heads of 17 other relevant offices of the government, shall 18 make the determinations required by this sec- 19 tion regarding voting-age populations and the 20 characteristics of such populations, and shall 21 publish a list of the States and political subdivi- 22 sions to which a voting-age population char- 23 acteristic described in subsection (b) applies. 24 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS OF CHARACTERISTICS ‘‘(B) PUBLICATION 25 ISTER.—A IN THE FEDERAL REG- determination or certification of the HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 12 1 Attorney General under this paragraph shall be 2 effective upon publication in the Federal Reg- 3 ister. 4 ‘‘(b) COVERED PRACTICES.—To assure that the right 5 of citizens of the United States to vote is not denied or 6 abridged on account of race, color, or membership in a 7 language minority group as a result of the implementation 8 of certain qualifications or prerequisites to voting, or 9 standards, practices, or procedures with respect to voting 10 newly adopted in a State or political subdivision, the fol11 lowing shall be covered practices subject to the require12 ments described in subsection (a): 13 14 ‘‘(1) CHANGES Any change to the method of election— 15 ‘‘(A) to add seats elected at-large in a 16 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS TO METHOD OF ELECTION.— State or political subdivision where— 17 ‘‘(i) two or more racial groups or lan- 18 guage minority groups each represent 20 19 percent or more of the political subdivi- 20 sion’s voting-age population; or 21 ‘‘(ii) a single language minority group 22 represents 20 percent or more of the vot- 23 ing-age population on Indian lands located 24 in whole or in part in the political subdivi- 25 sion; or HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 13 1 ‘‘(B) to convert one or more seats elected 2 from a single-member district to one or more 3 at-large seats or seats from a multi-member 4 district in a State or political subdivision 5 where— 6 ‘‘(i) two or more racial groups or lan- 7 guage minority groups each represent 20 8 percent or more of the political subdivi- 9 sion’s voting-age population; or 10 ‘‘(ii) a single language minority group 11 represents 20 percent or more of the vot- 12 ing-age population on Indian lands located 13 in whole or in part in the political subdivi- 14 sion. kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 15 ‘‘(2) CHANGES TO JURISDICTION 16 ARIES.—Any 17 year to the boundaries of a jurisdiction that reduces 18 by 3 or more percentage points the proportion of the 19 jurisdiction’s voting-age population that is comprised 20 of members of a single racial group or language mi- 21 nority group in a State or political subdivision 22 where— change or series of changes within a 23 ‘‘(A) two or more racial groups or lan- 24 guage minority groups each represent 20 per- HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 BOUND- 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 14 1 cent or more of the political subdivision’s vot- 2 ing-age population; or 3 ‘‘(B) a single language minority group rep- 4 resents 20 percent or more of the voting-age 5 population on Indian lands located in whole or 6 in part in the political subdivision. 7 ‘‘(3) CHANGES THROUGH REDISTRICTING.— 8 Any change to the boundaries of election districts in 9 a State or political subdivision where any racial 10 group or language minority group experiences a pop- 11 ulation increase, over the preceding decade (as cal- 12 culated by the Bureau of the Census under the most 13 recent decennial census), of at least— 14 ‘‘(A) 10,000; or 15 ‘‘(B) 20 percent of voting-age population 16 of the State or political subdivision, as the case 17 may be. 18 ‘‘(4) CHANGES IN DOCUMENTATION OR QUALI- 19 FICATIONS TO VOTE.—Any 20 for documentation or proof of identity to vote such 21 that the requirements will exceed or be more strin- 22 gent than the requirements for voting that are de- 23 scribed in section 303(b) of the Help America Vote 24 Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21083(b)) or any change to 25 the requirements for documentation or proof of iden- change to requirements HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 15 1 tity to register to vote that will exceed or be more 2 stringent than such requirements under State law on 3 the day before the date of enactment of the Voting 4 Rights Advancement Act of 2019. 5 ‘‘(5) CHANGES 6 TERIALS.—Any 7 voting materials or alters the manner in which such 8 materials are provided or distributed, where no simi- 9 lar reduction or alteration occurs in materials pro- 10 change that reduces multilingual vided in English for such election. 11 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS TO MULTILINGUAL VOTING MA- ‘‘(6) CHANGES THAT REDUCE, CONSOLIDATE, 12 OR RELOCATE VOTING LOCATIONS, OR REDUCE VOT- 13 ING 14 consolidates, or relocates voting locations, including 15 early, absentee, and election-day voting locations, or 16 reduces days or hours of in person voting on any 17 Sunday during a period occurring prior to the date 18 of an election during which voters may cast ballots 19 in such election— OPPORTUNITIES.—Any change that reduces, 20 ‘‘(A) in one or more census tracts wherein 21 two or more language minority groups or racial 22 groups each represent 20 percent or more of 23 the voting-age population of the political sub- 24 division; or HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 16 1 ‘‘(B) on Indian lands wherein at least 20 2 percent of the voting-age population belongs to 3 a single language minority group. 4 ‘‘(7) NEW 5 change to the maintenance of voter registration lists 6 that adds a new basis for removal from the list of 7 active registered voters or that puts in place a new 8 process for removing a name from the list of active 9 registered voters— 10 ‘‘(A) in the case of a political subdivision 11 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS LIST MAINTENANCE PROCESS.—Any imposing such change if— 12 ‘‘(i) two or more racial groups or lan- 13 guage minority groups each represent 20 14 percent or more of the voting-age popu- 15 lation of the political subdivision; or 16 ‘‘(ii) a single language minority group 17 represents 20 percent or more of the vot- 18 ing-age population on Indian lands located 19 in whole or in part in the political subdivi- 20 sion; or 21 ‘‘(B) in the case of a State imposing such 22 change, if two or more racial groups or lan- 23 guage minority groups each represent 20 per- 24 cent or more of the voting-age population of— 25 ‘‘(i) the State; or HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 17 1 ‘‘(ii) a political subdivision in the 2 State, except that the requirements under 3 subsections (a) and (c) shall apply only 4 with respect to each such political subdivi- 5 sion. 6 ‘‘(c) PRECLEARANCE.— kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whenever a State or polit- 8 ical subdivision with respect to which the require- 9 ments set forth in subsection (a) are in effect shall 10 enact, adopt, or seek to implement any covered prac- 11 tice described under subsection (b), such State or 12 subdivision may institute an action in the United 13 States District Court for the District of Columbia 14 for a declaratory judgment that such covered prac- 15 tice neither has the purpose nor will have the effect 16 of denying or abridging the right to vote on account 17 of race, color, or membership in a language minority 18 group, and unless and until the court enters such 19 judgment such covered practice shall not be imple- 20 mented. Notwithstanding the previous sentence, such 21 covered practice may be implemented without such 22 proceeding if the covered practice has been sub- 23 mitted by the chief legal officer or other appropriate 24 official of such State or subdivision to the Attorney 25 General and the Attorney General has not inter- HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 18 1 posed an objection within 60 days after such submis- 2 sion, or upon good cause shown, to facilitate an ex- 3 pedited approval within 60 days after such submis- 4 sion, the Attorney General has affirmatively indi- 5 cated that such objection will not be made. Neither 6 an affirmative indication by the Attorney General 7 that no objection will be made, nor the Attorney 8 General’s failure to object, nor a declaratory judg- 9 ment entered under this section shall bar a subse- 10 quent action to enjoin implementation of such cov- 11 ered practice. In the event the Attorney General af- 12 firmatively indicates that no objection will be made 13 within the 60-day period following receipt of a sub- 14 mission, the Attorney General may reserve the right 15 to reexamine the submission if additional informa- 16 tion comes to the Attorney General’s attention dur- 17 ing the remainder of the 60-day period which would 18 otherwise require objection in accordance with this 19 section. Any action under this section shall be heard 20 and determined by a court of three judges in accord- 21 ance with the provisions of section 2284 of title 28, 22 United States Code, and any appeal shall lie to the 23 Supreme Court. kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 24 25 ‘‘(2) DENYING VOTE.—Any OR ABRIDGING THE RIGHT TO covered practice described in subsection HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 19 1 (b) that has the purpose of or will have the effect 2 of diminishing the ability of any citizens of the 3 United States on account of race, color, or member- 4 ship in a language minority group, to elect their pre- 5 ferred candidates of choice denies or abridges the 6 right to vote within the meaning of paragraph (1) of 7 this subsection. 8 9 10 ‘‘(3) PURPOSE DEFINED.—The term ‘purpose’ in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection shall include any discriminatory purpose. 11 ‘‘(4) PURPOSE OF PARAGRAPH (2).—The pur- 12 pose of paragraph (2) of this subsection is to protect 13 the ability of such citizens to elect their preferred 14 candidates of choice. 15 ‘‘(d) ENFORCEMENT.—The Attorney General or any 16 aggrieved citizen may file an action in a Federal district 17 court to compel any State or political subdivision to satisfy 18 the obligations set forth in this section. Such actions shall 19 be heard and determined by a court of three judges under 20 section 2284 of title 28, United States Code. In any such 21 action, the court shall provide as a remedy that any voting 22 qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, prac23 tice, or procedure with respect to voting, that is the subkjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 24 ject of the action under this subsection be enjoined unless 25 the court determines that— HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 20 1 ‘‘(1) the voting qualification or prerequisite to 2 voting, or standard, practice, or procedure with re- 3 spect to voting, is not a covered practice described 4 in subsection (b); or 5 ‘‘(2) the State or political subdivision has com- 6 plied with subsection (c) with respect to the covered 7 practice at issue. 8 ‘‘(e) COUNTING OF RACIAL GROUPS AND LANGUAGE 9 MINORITY GROUPS.—For purposes of this section, the cal10 culation of the population of a racial group or a language 11 minority group shall be carried out using the methodology 12 in the guidance promulgated in the Federal Register on 13 February 9, 2011 (76 Fed. Reg. 7470). 14 ‘‘(f) SPECIAL RULE.—For purposes of determina- 15 tions under this section, any data provided by the Bureau 16 of the Census, whether based on estimation from sample 17 or actual enumeration, shall not be subject to challenge 18 or review in any court. 19 ‘‘(g) MULTILINGUAL VOTING MATERIALS.—In this 20 section, the term ‘multilingual voting materials’ means 21 registration or voting notices, forms, instructions, assist22 ance, or other materials or information relating to the 23 electoral process, including ballots, provided in the lankjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 24 guage or languages of one or more language minority 25 groups.’’. HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 21 1 SEC. 5. PROMOTING TRANSPARENCY TO ENFORCE THE 2 VOTING RIGHTS ACT. 3 (a) TRANSPARENCY.— 4 (1) IN Voting Rights Act of 5 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.) is amended by in- 6 serting after section 5 the following new section: 7 ‘‘SEC. 6. TRANSPARENCY REGARDING CHANGES TO PRO- 8 9 TECT VOTING RIGHTS. ‘‘(a) NOTICE OF ENACTED CHANGES.— 10 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS GENERAL.—The ‘‘(1) NOTICE OF CHANGES.—If a State or polit- 11 ical subdivision makes any change in any pre- 12 requisite to voting or standard, practice, or proce- 13 dure with respect to voting in any election for Fed- 14 eral office that will result in the prerequisite, stand- 15 ard, practice, or procedure being different from that 16 which was in effect as of 180 days before the date 17 of the election for Federal office, the State or polit- 18 ical subdivision shall provide reasonable public notice 19 in such State or political subdivision and on the 20 Internet, of a concise description of the change, in- 21 cluding the difference between the changed pre- 22 requisite, standard, practice, or procedure and the 23 prerequisite, standard, practice, or procedure which 24 was previously in effect. The public notice described 25 in this paragraph, in such State or political subdivi- 26 sion and on the Internet, shall be in a format that HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 22 1 is reasonably convenient and accessible to voters 2 with disabilities, including voters who have low vi- 3 sion or are blind. 4 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE FOR NOTICE.—A State or polit- 5 ical subdivision shall provide the public notice re- 6 quired under paragraph (1) not later than 48 hours 7 after making the change involved. 8 ‘‘(b) TRANSPARENCY REGARDING POLLING PLACE 9 RESOURCES.— kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to identify any 11 changes that may impact the right to vote of any 12 person, prior to the 30th day before the date of an 13 election for Federal office, each State or political 14 subdivision with responsibility for allocating reg- 15 istered voters, voting machines, and official poll 16 workers to particular precincts and polling places 17 shall provide reasonable public notice in such State 18 or political subdivision and on the Internet, of the 19 information described in paragraph (2) for precincts 20 and polling places within such State or political sub- 21 division. The public notice described in this para- 22 graph, in such State or political subdivision and on 23 the Internet, shall be in a format that is reasonably 24 convenient and accessible to voters with disabilities 25 including voters who have low vision or are blind. HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 23 1 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION tion described in this paragraph with respect to a 3 precinct or polling place is each of the following: 4 ‘‘(A) The name or number. 5 ‘‘(B) In the case of a polling place, the lo- 6 cation, including the street address, and wheth- 7 er such polling place is accessible to persons 8 with disabilities. 9 ‘‘(C) The voting-age population of the area 10 served by the precinct or polling place, broken 11 down by demographic group if such breakdown 12 is reasonably available to such State or political 13 subdivision. 14 ‘‘(D) The number of registered voters as- 15 signed to the precinct or polling place, broken 16 down by demographic group if such breakdown 17 is reasonably available to such State or political 18 subdivision. 19 ‘‘(E) The number of voting machines as- 20 signed, including the number of voting ma- 21 chines accessible to voters with disabilities, in- 22 cluding voters who have low vision or are blind. 23 ‘‘(F) The number of official paid poll workers assigned. HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 informa- 2 24 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS DESCRIBED.—The 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 24 1 ‘‘(G) The number of official volunteer poll 2 workers assigned. 3 ‘‘(H) In the case of a polling place, the 4 dates and hours of operation. 5 ‘‘(3) UPDATES 6 If a State or political subdivision makes any change 7 in any of the information described in paragraph 8 (2), the State or political subdivision shall provide 9 reasonable public notice in such State or political 10 subdivision and on the Internet, of the change in the 11 information not later than 48 hours after the change 12 occurs or, if the change occurs fewer than 48 hours 13 before the date of the election for Federal office, as 14 soon as practicable after the change occurs. The 15 public notice described in this paragraph in such 16 State or political subdivision and on the Internet 17 shall be in a format that is reasonably convenient 18 and accessible to voters with disabilities including 19 voters who have low vision or are blind. 20 ‘‘(c) TRANSPARENCY OF CHANGES RELATING TO DE- 21 MOGRAPHICS AND 22 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS IN INFORMATION REPORTED.— ‘‘(1) ELECTORAL DISTRICTS.— REQUIRING PUBLIC NOTICE 23 CHANGES.—Not 24 any change in the constituency that will participate 25 in an election for Federal, State, or local office or later than 10 days after making HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 OF 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 25 1 the boundaries of a voting unit or electoral district 2 in an election for Federal, State, or local office (in- 3 cluding 4 changing from at-large elections to district-based 5 elections, or changing from district-based elections 6 to at-large elections), a State or political subdivision 7 shall provide reasonable public notice in such State 8 or political subdivision and on the Internet, of the 9 demographic and electoral data described in para- 10 graph (3) for each of the geographic areas described 11 in paragraph (2). kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 through redistricting, ‘‘(2) GEOGRAPHIC reapportionment, AREAS DESCRIBED.—The 13 ographic areas described in this paragraph are as 14 follows: 15 ‘‘(A) The State as a whole, if the change 16 applies statewide, or the political subdivision as 17 a whole, if the change applies across the entire 18 political subdivision. 19 ‘‘(B) If the change includes a plan to re- 20 place or eliminate voting units or electoral dis- 21 tricts, each voting unit or electoral district that 22 will be replaced or eliminated. 23 ‘‘(C) If the change includes a plan to es- 24 tablish new voting units or electoral districts, 25 each such new voting unit or electoral district. HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 ge- 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 26 1 ‘‘(3) DEMOGRAPHIC 2 The demographic and electoral data described in this 3 paragraph with respect to a geographic area de- 4 scribed in paragraph (2) are each of the following: 5 ‘‘(A) The voting-age population, broken 6 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS AND ELECTORAL DATA.— down by demographic group. 7 ‘‘(B) If it is reasonably available to the 8 State or political subdivision involved, an esti- 9 mate of the population of the area which con- 10 sists of citizens of the United States who are 18 11 years of age or older, broken down by demo- 12 graphic group. 13 ‘‘(C) The number of registered voters, bro- 14 ken down by demographic group if such break- 15 down is reasonably available to the State or po- 16 litical subdivision involved. 17 ‘‘(D)(i) If the change applies to a State, 18 the actual number of votes, or (if it is not rea- 19 sonably practicable for the State to ascertain 20 the actual number of votes) the estimated num- 21 ber of votes received by each candidate in each 22 statewide election held during the 5-year period 23 which ends on the date the change involved is 24 made; and HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 27 1 ‘‘(ii) if the change applies to only one polit- 2 ical subdivision, the actual number of votes, or 3 (if it is not reasonably practicable for the polit- 4 ical subdivision to ascertain the actual number 5 of votes) in each subdivision-wide election held 6 during the 5-year period which ends on the date 7 the change involved is made. 8 ‘‘(4) VOLUNTARY 9 RISDICTIONS.—Compliance COMPLIANCE BY SMALLER JU- with this subsection shall 10 be voluntary for a political subdivision of a State un- 11 less the subdivision is one of the following: 12 ‘‘(A) A county or parish. 13 ‘‘(B) A municipality with a population 14 greater than 10,000, as determined by the Bu- 15 reau of the Census under the most recent de- 16 cennial census. 17 ‘‘(C) A school district with a population 18 greater than 10,000, as determined by the Bu- 19 reau of the Census under the most recent de- 20 cennial census. For purposes of this subpara- 21 graph, the term ‘school district’ means the geo- 22 graphic area under the jurisdiction of a local 23 educational agency (as defined in section 9101 24 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 25 Act of 1965). HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 28 1 2 ‘‘(d) RULES REGARDING FORMAT TION.—The OF INFORMA- Attorney General may issue rules specifying 3 a reasonably convenient and accessible format that States 4 and political subdivisions shall use to provide public notice 5 of information under this section. 6 ‘‘(e) NO DENIAL OF RIGHT TO VOTE.—The right to 7 vote of any person shall not be denied or abridged because 8 the person failed to comply with any change made by a 9 State or political subdivision to a voting qualification, 10 standard, practice, or procedure if the State or political 11 subdivision involved did not meet the applicable require12 ments of this section with respect to the change. kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 14 ‘‘(1) the term ‘demographic group’ means each 15 group which section 2 protects from the denial or 16 abridgement of the right to vote on account of race 17 or color, or in contravention of the guarantees set 18 forth in section 4(f)(2); 19 ‘‘(2) the term ‘election for Federal office’ means 20 any general, special, primary, or runoff election held 21 solely or in part for the purpose of electing any can- 22 didate for the office of President, Vice President, 23 Presidential elector, Senator, Member of the House 24 of Representatives, or Delegate or Resident Commis- 25 sioner to the Congress; and HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 29 1 ‘‘(3) the term ‘persons with disabilities’, means 2 individuals with a disability, as defined in section 3 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.’’. 4 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3(a) 5 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 10302(a)) is amended by 6 striking ‘‘in accordance with section 6’’. 7 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 8 subsection (a)(1) shall apply with respect to changes which 9 are made on or after the expiration of the 60-day period 10 which begins on the date of the enactment of this Act. 11 SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO ASSIGN OBSERVERS. 12 (a) CLARIFICATION 13 SUBDIVISIONS SUBJECT OF TO AUTHORITY IN POLITICAL PRECLEARANCE.—Section 14 8(a)(2)(B) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 15 10305(a)(2)(B)) is amended to read as follows: 16 ‘‘(B) in the Attorney General’s judgment, 17 the assignment of observers is otherwise nec- 18 essary to enforce the guarantees of the 14th or 19 15th Amendment or any provision of this Act 20 or any other Federal law protecting the right of 21 citizens of the United States to vote; or’’. 22 23 (b) ASSIGNMENT LINGUAL OF OBSERVERS TO ENFORCE BI- ELECTION REQUIREMENTS.—Section 8(a) of kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 24 such Act (52 U.S.C. 10305(a)) is amended— HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 30 1 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph 2 (1); 3 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol- 4 lowing: 5 ‘‘(3) the Attorney General certifies with respect 6 to a political subdivision that— 7 ‘‘(A) the Attorney General has received 8 written meritorious complaints from residents, 9 elected officials, or civic participation organiza- 10 tions that efforts to violate section 203 are like- 11 ly to occur; or 12 ‘‘(B) in the Attorney General’s judgment, 13 the assignment of observers is necessary to en- 14 force the guarantees of section 203;’’; and 15 (3) by moving the margin for the continuation 16 text following paragraph (3), as added by paragraph 17 (2) of this subsection, 2 ems to the left. 18 SEC. 7. PRELIMINARY INJUNCTIVE RELIEF. 19 20 (a) CLARIFICATION THORIZED OF SCOPE AND PERSONS AU- TO SEEK RELIEF.—Section 12(d) of the Vot- 21 ing Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10308(d)) is amend- kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 22 ed— 23 (1) by striking ‘‘section 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 24 or subsection (b) of this section’’ and inserting ‘‘the 25 14th or 15th Amendment, this Act, or any Federal HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 31 1 voting rights law that prohibits discrimination on 2 the basis of race, color, or membership in a language 3 minority group’’; and 4 (2) by striking ‘‘the Attorney General may in- 5 stitute for the United States, or in the name of the 6 United States,’’ and inserting ‘‘the aggrieved person 7 or (in the name of the United States) the Attorney 8 General may institute’’. 9 (b) GROUNDS FOR GRANTING RELIEF.—Section 10 12(d) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 10308(d)) is amended— 11 12 (1) by striking ‘‘(d) Whenever any person’’ and inserting ‘‘(d)(1) Whenever any person’’; 13 14 (2) by striking ‘‘(1) to permit’’ and inserting ‘‘(A) to permit’’; 15 16 (3) by striking ‘‘(2) to count’’ and inserting ‘‘(B) to count’’; and 17 (4) by adding at the end the following new 18 paragraph: 19 ‘‘(2)(A) In any action for preliminary relief described 20 in this subsection, the court shall grant the relief if the 21 court determines that the complainant has raised a serious 22 question whether the challenged voting qualification or 23 prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, or procedure kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 24 violates this Act or the Constitution and, on balance, the 25 hardship imposed upon the defendant by the grant of the HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 32 1 relief will be less than the hardship which would be im2 posed upon the plaintiff if the relief were not granted. In 3 balancing the harms, the court shall give due weight to 4 the fundamental right to cast an effective ballot. 5 ‘‘(B) In making its determination under this para- 6 graph with respect to a change in any voting qualification, 7 prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure 8 with respect to voting, the court shall consider all relevant 9 factors and give due weight to the following factors, if they kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 are present: 11 ‘‘(i) Whether the qualification, prerequisite, 12 standard, practice, or procedure in effect prior to the 13 change was adopted as a remedy for a Federal court 14 judgment, consent decree, or admission regarding— 15 ‘‘(I) discrimination on the basis of race or 16 color in violation of the 14th or 15th Amend- 17 ment; 18 ‘‘(II) a violation of this Act; or 19 ‘‘(III) voting discrimination on the basis of 20 race, color, or membership in a language minor- 21 ity group in violation of any other Federal or 22 State law. 23 ‘‘(ii) Whether the qualification, prerequisite, 24 standard, practice, or procedure in effect prior to the HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 33 1 change served as a ground for the dismissal or set- 2 tlement of a claim alleging— 3 ‘‘(I) discrimination on the basis of race or 4 color in violation of the 14th or 15th Amend- 5 ment; 6 ‘‘(II) a violation of this Act; or 7 ‘‘(III) voting discrimination on the basis of 8 race, color, or membership in a language minor- 9 ity group in violation of any other Federal or 10 State law. 11 ‘‘(iii) Whether the change was adopted fewer 12 than 180 days before the date of the election with 13 respect to which the change is to take effect. 14 ‘‘(iv) Whether the defendant has failed to pro- 15 vide timely or complete notice of the adoption of the 16 change as required by applicable Federal or State 17 law.’’. 18 (c) GROUNDS 19 PEAL.—Section FOR STAY OR INTERLOCUTORY AP- 12(d) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 10308(d)) 20 is further amended by adding at the end the following: 21 ‘‘(3) A jurisdiction’s inability to enforce its voting or 22 election laws, regulations, policies, or redistricting plans, 23 standing alone, shall not be deemed to constitute irrepkjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 24 arable harm to the public interest or to the interests of 25 a defendant in an action arising under the U.S. Constitu- HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 34 1 tion or any Federal law that prohibits discrimination on 2 the basis of race, color, or membership in a language mi3 nority group in the voting process, for the purposes of de4 termining whether a stay of a court’s order or an inter5 locutory appeal under section 1253 of title 28, United 6 States Code, is warranted.’’. 7 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 8 Title I of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 9 10301) is amended by adding at the end the following: 10 ‘‘SEC. 21. DEFINITIONS. 11 ‘‘In this Act: 12 ‘‘(1) INDIAN.—The term ‘Indian’ has the mean- 13 ing given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self- 14 Determination and Education Assistance Act. 15 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 16 ‘‘(2) INDIAN LANDS.—The term ‘Indian lands’ means— 17 ‘‘(A) any Indian country of an Indian 18 tribe, as such term is defined in section 1151 19 of title 18, United States Code; 20 ‘‘(B) any land in Alaska that is owned, 21 pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settle- 22 ment Act, by an Indian tribe that is a Native 23 village (as such term is defined in section 3 of 24 such Act), or by a Village Corporation that is HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 35 1 associated with the Indian tribe (as such term 2 is defined in section 3 of such Act); 3 ‘‘(C) any land on which the seat of govern- 4 ment of the Indian tribe is located; and 5 ‘‘(D) any land that is part or all of a tribal 6 designated statistical area associated with the 7 Indian tribe, or is part or all of an Alaska Na- 8 tive village statistical area associated with the 9 tribe, as defined by the Bureau of the Census 10 for the purposes of the most recent decennial 11 census. 12 ‘‘(3) INDIAN term ‘Indian tribe’ or 13 ‘tribe’ has the meaning given the term ‘Indian tribe’ 14 in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 15 Education Assistance Act. 16 ‘‘(4) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The Government’ means the recognized governing body 18 of an Indian Tribe. ‘‘(5) VOTING-AGE POPULATION.—The term 20 ‘voting-age population’ means the numerical size of 21 the population within a State, within a political sub- 22 division, or within a political subdivision that con- 23 tains Indian lands, as the case may be, that consists 24 of persons age 18 or older, as calculated by the Bu- HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 term ‘Tribal 17 19 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS TRIBE.—The 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 36 1 reau of the Census under the most recent decennial 2 census.’’. 3 SEC. 9. ATTORNEYS’ FEES. 4 Section 14(c) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 5 U.S.C. 10310(c)) is amended by adding at the end the 6 following: 7 ‘‘(4) The term ‘prevailing party’ means a party to an 8 action that receives at least some of the benefit sought 9 by such action, states a colorable claim, and can establish 10 that the action was a significant cause of a change to the 11 status quo.’’. 12 SEC. 10. OTHER TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND- 13 14 MENTS. (a) ACTIONS COVERED UNDER SECTION 3.—Section 15 3(c) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 16 10302(c)) is amended— 17 (1) by striking ‘‘any proceeding instituted by 18 the Attorney General or an aggrieved person under 19 any statute to enforce’’ and inserting ‘‘any action 20 under any statute in which a party (including the 21 Attorney General) seeks to enforce’’; and 22 (2) by striking ‘‘at the time the proceeding was 23 commenced’’ and inserting ‘‘at the time the action 24 was commenced’’. HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 37 1 (b) CLARIFICATION OF TREATMENT OF MEMBERS OF 2 LANGUAGE MINORITY GROUPS.—Section 4(f) of such Act 3 (52 U.S.C. 10303(f)) is amended— 4 5 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking the second sentence; and 6 7 (2) by striking paragraphs (3) and (4). (c) PERIOD DURING WHICH CHANGES 8 PRACTICES ARE SUBJECT TO IN VOTING PRECLEARANCE UNDER 9 SECTION 5.—Section 5 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 10304) 10 is amended— 11 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘based upon 12 determinations made under the first sentence of sec- 13 tion 4(b) are in effect’’ and inserting ‘‘are in effect 14 during a calendar year’’; 15 (2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘November 1, 16 1964’’ and all that follows through ‘‘November 1, 17 1972’’ and inserting ‘‘the applicable date of cov- 18 erage’’; and 19 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub- 20 section: 21 ‘‘(e) The term ‘applicable date of coverage’ means, kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 22 with respect to a State or political subdivision— 23 ‘‘(1) June 25, 2013, if the most recent deter- 24 mination for such State or subdivision under section 25 4(b) was made on or before December 31, 2019; or HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4 38 1 ‘‘(2) the date on which the most recent deter- 2 mination for such State or subdivision under section 3 4(b) was made, if such determination was made 4 after December 31, 2019.’’. Passed the House of Representatives December 6, 2019. kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. HR 4 RFS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.RFS H4