Sec. 4. Determination of States and Political Subdivisions Subject to Preclearance for Covered Practices
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The Voting Rights Act of 1965 ( 52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.) is further amended by inserting after section 4 the following: Each State and each political subdivision shall— identify any newly enacted or adopted law, regulation, or policy that includes a voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or a standard, practice, or procedure with respect to voting, that is a covered practice described in subsection (b); and ensure that no such covered practice is implemented unless or until the State or political subdivision, as the case may be, complies with subsection (c).
As early as practicable during each calendar year, the Attorney General, in consultation with the Director of the Bureau of the Census and the heads of other relevant offices of the government, shall make the determinations required by this section regarding voting-age populations and the characteristics of such populations, and shall publish a list of the States and political subdivisions to which a voting-age population characteristic described in subsection
(b)applies. A determination or certification of the Attorney General under this paragraph shall be effective upon publication in the Federal Register. To assure that the right of citizens of the United States to vote is not denied or abridged on account of race, color, or membership in a language minority group as a result of the implementation of certain qualifications or prerequisites to voting, or standards, practices, or procedures with respect to voting newly adopted in a State or political subdivision, the following shall be covered practices subject to the requirements described in subsection (a): Any change to the method of election— to add seats elected at-large in a State or political subdivision where— 2 or more racial groups or language minority groups each represent 20 percent or more of the political subdivision’s voting-age population; or a single language minority group represents 20 percent or more of the voting-age population on Indian lands located in whole or in part in the political subdivision; or to convert one or more seats elected from a single-member district to one or more at-large seats or seats from a multi-member district in a State or political subdivision where— 2 or more racial groups or language minority groups each represent 20 percent or more of the political subdivision’s voting-age population; or a single language minority group represents 20 percent or more of the voting-age population on Indian lands located in whole or in part in the political subdivision. Any change or series of changes within a year to the boundaries of a jurisdiction that reduces by 3 or more percentage points the proportion of the jurisdiction's voting-age population that is comprised of members of a single racial group or language minority group in a State or political subdivision where— 2 or more racial groups or language minority groups each represent 20 percent or more of the political subdivision’s voting-age population; or a single language minority group represents 20 percent or more of the voting-age population on Indian lands located in whole or in part in the political subdivision. Any change to the boundaries of election districts in a State or political subdivision where any racial group or language minority group experiences a population increase, over the preceding decade (as calculated by the Bureau of the Census under the most recent decennial census), of at least— 10,000; or 20 percent of voting-age population of the State or political subdivision, as the case may be. Any change to requirements for documentation or proof of identity to vote such that the requirements will exceed or be more stringent than the requirements for voting that are described in section 303(b) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 ( 52 U.S.C. 21083(b) ) or any change to the requirements for documentation or proof of identity to register to vote that will exceed or be more stringent than such requirements under State law on the day before the date of enactment of the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019 . Any change that reduces multilingual voting materials or alters the manner in which such materials are provided or distributed, where no similar reduction or alteration occurs in materials provided in English for such election. Any change that reduces, consolidates, or relocates voting locations, including early, absentee, and election-day voting locations— in 1 or more census tracts wherein 2 or more language minority groups or racial groups each represent 20 percent or more of the voting-age population of the political subdivision; or on Indian lands wherein at least 20 percent of the voting-age population belongs to a single language minority group. Whenever a State or political subdivision with respect to which the requirements set forth in subsection
(a)are in effect shall enact, adopt, or seek to implement any covered practice described under subsection (b), such State or subdivision may institute an action in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia for a declaratory judgment that such covered practice neither has the purpose nor will have the effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race, color, or membership in a language minority group, and unless and until the court enters such judgment such covered practice shall not be implemented. Notwithstanding the previous sentence, such covered practice may be implemented without such proceeding if the covered practice has been submitted by the chief legal officer or other appropriate official of such State or subdivision to the Attorney General and the Attorney General has not interposed an objection within 60 days after such submission, or upon good cause shown, to facilitate an expedited approval within 60 days after such submission, the Attorney General has affirmatively indicated that such objection will not be made. Neither an affirmative indication by the Attorney General that no objection will be made, nor the Attorney General's failure to object, nor a declaratory judgment entered under this section shall bar a subsequent action to enjoin implementation of such covered practice. In the event the Attorney General affirmatively indicates that no objection will be made within the 60-day period following receipt of a submission, the Attorney General may reserve the right to reexamine the submission if additional information comes to the Attorney General's attention during the remainder of the 60-day period which would otherwise require objection in accordance with this section. Any action under this section shall be heard and determined by a court of three judges in accordance with the provisions of section 2284 of title 28, United States Code, and any appeal shall lie to the Supreme Court. Any covered practice described in subsection
(b)that has the purpose of or will have the effect of diminishing the ability of any citizens of the United States on account of race, color, or membership in a language minority group, to elect their preferred candidates of choice denies or abridges the right to vote within the meaning of paragraph
(1)of this subsection. The term purpose in paragraphs
(1)and
(2)of this subsection shall include any discriminatory purpose. The purpose of paragraph
(2)of this subsection is to protect the ability of such citizens to elect their preferred candidates of choice. The Attorney General or any aggrieved citizen may file an action in a Federal district court to compel any State or political subdivision to satisfy the obligations set forth in this section. Such actions shall be heard and determined by a court of 3 judges under section 2284 of title 28, United States Code. In any such action, the court shall provide as a remedy that any voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure with respect to voting, that is the subject of the action under this subsection be enjoined unless the court determines that— the voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure with respect to voting, is not a covered practice described in subsection (b); or the State or political subdivision has complied with subsection
(c)with respect to the covered practice at issue. For purposes of this section, the calculation of the population of a racial group or a language minority group shall be carried out using the methodology in the guidance promulgated in the Federal Register on February 9, 2011 (76 Fed. Reg. 7470). For purposes of determinations under this section, any data provided by the Bureau of the Census, whether based on estimation from sample or actual enumeration, shall not be subject to challenge or review in any court. In this section, the term multilingual voting materials means registration or voting notices, forms, instructions, assistance, or other materials or information relating to the electoral process, including ballots, provided in the language or languages of one or more language minority groups. .
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- 76 FR 7470
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Sec. 4
Determination of States and Political Subdivisions Subject to Preclearance for Covered Practices
Fed. Reg.76 FR 7470
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