(1) The right to vote for all Americans is a fundamental right guaranteed by the United States Constitution.
(2) Federal, State, and local governments should protect the right to vote and promote voter participation across all demographics.
(3) The Voting Rights Act has empowered the Department of Justice and Federal courts for nearly a half a century to block discriminatory voting practices before their implementation in States and localities with the most troubling histories, ongoing records of racial discrimination, and demonstrations of lower participation rates for protected classes.
(4) There continues to be an alarming movement to erect barriers to make it more difficult for Americans to participate in our Nation’s democratic process. The Nation has witnessed unprecedented efforts to turn back the clock and enact suppressive laws that block access to the franchise for communities of color which have faced historic and continuing discrimination, as well as disabled, young, elderly, and low-income Americans.
(5) The Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County v. Holder (570 U.S. 529 (2013)), gutted decades-long Federal protections for communities of color and language-minority populations facing ongoing discrimination, emboldening States and local jurisdictions to pass voter suppression laws and implement procedures, like those requiring photo identification, limiting early voting hours, eliminating same-day registration, purging voters from the rolls, and reducing the number of polling places.
(6) Racial discrimination in voting is a clear and persistent problem. The actions of States and localities around the country post-Shelby County, including at least 10 findings by Federal courts of intentional discrimination, underscored the need for Congress to conduct investigatory and evidentiary hearings to determine the legislation necessary to restore the Voting Rights Act and combat continuing efforts in America that suppress the free exercise of the franchise in Black and other communities of color.
(7) Evidence of discriminatory voting practice spans from decades ago through to the past several election cycles. The 2018 midterm elections, for example, demonstrated ongoing discrimination in voting.
(8) During the 116th Congress, congressional committees in the House of Representatives held numerous hearings, collecting substantial testimony and other evidence which underscored the need to pass a restoration of the Voting Rights Act.
(9) On December 6, 2019, the House of Representatives passed the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore and modernize the Voting Rights Act, in accordance with language from the Shelby County decision. Congress reaffirms that the barriers faced by too many voters across this Nation when trying to cast their ballot necessitate reintroduction of many of the protections once afforded by the Voting Rights Act.
(10) The 2020 primary and general elections provide further evidence that systemic voter discrimination and intimidation continues to occur in communities of color across the country, making it clear that full access to the franchise will not be achieved until Congress restores key provisions of the Voting Rights Act.
(11) As of late-February 2021, 43 States had introduced, prefiled, or carried over 253 bills to restrict voting access that, primarily, limit mail voting access, impose stricter voter ID requirements, slash voter registration opportunities, and/or enable more aggressive voter roll purges.
(b) Purposes.—The purposes of this Act are as follows:
(1) To improve access to the ballot for all citizens.
(2) To establish procedures by which States and localities, in accordance with past actions, submit voting practice changes for preclearance by the Federal Government.
(3) To enhance the integrity and security of our voting systems.
(4) To ensure greater accountability for the administration of elections by States and localities.
(5) To restore protections for voters against practices in States and localities plagued by the persistence of voter disenfranchisement.
(6) To ensure that Federal civil rights laws protect the rights of voters against discriminatory and deceptive practices.
