Sec. 104. Criteria for coverage of States and political subdivisions
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a ) Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ( 52 U.S.C. 10303(b) ) is amended to read as follows: Subsection
(a)applies with respect to a State and all political subdivisions within the State during a calendar year if— fifteen or more voting rights violations occurred in the State during the previous 25 calendar years; or ten or more voting rights violations occurred in the State during the previous 25 calendar years, at least one of which was committed by the State itself (as opposed to a political subdivision within the State). Subsection
(a)applies with respect to a political subdivision as a separate unit during a calendar year if three or more voting rights violations occurred in the subdivision during the previous 25 calendar years. Except as provided in subparagraph (B), if, pursuant to paragraph (1), subsection
(a)applies with respect to a State or political subdivision during a calendar year, subsection
(a)shall apply with respect to such State or political subdivision for the period— that begins on January 1 of the year in which subsection
(a)applies; and that ends on the date which is 10 years after the date described in clause (i). If a State obtains a declaratory judgment under subsection (a), and the judgment remains in effect, subsection
(a)shall no longer apply to such State and all political subdivisions in the State pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) unless, after the issuance of the declaratory judgment, paragraph (1)(A) applies to the State solely on the basis of voting rights violations occurring after the issuance of the declaratory judgment. If a political subdivision obtains a declaratory judgment under subsection (a), and the judgment remains in effect, subsection
(a)shall no longer apply to such political subdivision pursuant to paragraph (1), including pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) (relating to the statewide application of subsection (a)), unless, after the issuance of the declaratory judgment, paragraph (1)(B) applies to the political subdivision solely on the basis of voting rights violations occurring after the issuance of the declaratory judgment. For purposes of paragraph (1), a voting rights violation occurred in a State or political subdivision if any of the following applies: Any final judgment (that was not reversed on appeal) occurred, in which the plaintiff prevailed and in which any court of the United States determined that a denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race, color, or membership in a language minority group occurred, or that a voting qualification or prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, or procedure with respect to voting created an undue burden on the right to vote in connection with a claim that the law unduly burdened voters of a particular race, color, or language minority group, in violation of the 14th or 15th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, anywhere within the State or subdivision. Any final judgment (that was not reversed on appeal) occurred in which the plaintiff prevailed and in which any court of the United States determined that a voting qualification or prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, or procedure with respect to voting was imposed or applied or would have been imposed or applied anywhere within the State or subdivision in a manner that resulted or would have resulted in a denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race, color, or membership in a language minority group, in violation of subsection
(e)or
(f)or section 2, 201, or 203. In a final judgment (that was not been reversed on appeal), any court of the United States has denied the request of the State or subdivision for a declaratory judgment under section 3(c) or section 5, and thereby prevented a voting qualification or prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, or procedure with respect to voting from being enforced anywhere within the State or subdivision. The Attorney General has interposed an objection under section 3(c) or section 5, and thereby prevented a voting qualification or prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, or procedure with respect to voting from being enforced anywhere within the State or subdivision. A violation under this subparagraph has not occurred where an objection has been withdrawn by the Attorney General, unless the withdrawal was in response to a change in the law or practice that served as the basis of the objection. A violation under this subparagraph has not occurred where the objection is based solely on a State or political subdivision’s failure to comply with a procedural process that would not otherwise count as an independent violation of this Act. A consent decree, settlement, or other agreement was adopted or entered by a court of the United States that contains an admission of liability by the defendants, which resulted in the alteration or abandonment of a voting practice anywhere in the territory of such State or subdivision that was challenged on the ground that the practice denied or abridged the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race, color, or membership in a language minority group in violation of subsection
(e)or
(f)or section 2, 201, or 203, or the 14th or 15th Amendment. A voluntary extension or continuation of a consent decree, settlement, or agreement described in clause
(i)shall not count as an independent violation under this subparagraph. Any other extension or modification of such a consent decree, settlement, or agreement, if the consent decree, settlement, or agreement has been in place for ten years or longer, shall count as an independent violation under this subparagraph. If a court of the United States finds that a consent decree, settlement, or agreement described in clause
(i)itself denied or abridged the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race, color, or membership in a language minority group, violated subsection
(e)or
(f)or section 2, 201, or 203, or created an undue burden on the right to vote in connection with a claim that the consent decree, settlement, or other agreement unduly burdened voters of a particular race, color, or language minority group, that finding shall count as an independent violation under this subparagraph. Each instance in which a voting qualification or prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, or procedure with respect to voting, including each redistricting plan, is found to be a violation by a court of the United States pursuant to subparagraph
(A)or (B), or prevented from being enforced pursuant to subparagraph
(C)or (D), or altered or abandoned pursuant to subparagraph
(E)shall count as an independent violation under this paragraph. Within a redistricting plan, each violation under this paragraph found to discriminate against any group of voters based on race, color, or language minority group shall count as an independent violation under this paragraph. As early as practicable during each calendar year, the Attorney General shall make the determinations required by this subsection, including updating the list of voting rights violations occurring in each State and political subdivision for the previous calendar year. A determination or certification of the Attorney General under this section or under section 8 or 13 shall be effective upon publication in the Federal Register. . Section 4(a) of such Act ( 52 U.S.C. 10303(a) ) is amended— in paragraph (1), in the first sentence of the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking any State with respect to which and all that follows through unless and inserting any State to which this subsection applies during a calendar year pursuant to determinations made under subsection (b), or in any political subdivision of such State (as such subdivision existed on the date such determinations were made with respect to such State), though such determinations were not made with respect to such subdivision as a separate unit, or in any political subdivision with respect to which this subsection applies during a calendar year pursuant to determinations made with respect to such subdivision as a separate unit under subsection (b), unless ; in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking the second sentence; in paragraph (1)(A), by striking (in the case of a State or subdivision seeking a declaratory judgment under the second sentence of this subsection) ; in paragraph (1)(B), by striking (in the case of a State or subdivision seeking a declaratory judgment under the second sentence of this subsection) ; in paragraph (3), by striking (in the case of a State or subdivision seeking a declaratory judgment under the second sentence of this subsection) ; in paragraph (5), by striking (in the case of a State or subdivision which sought a declaratory judgment under the second sentence of this subsection) ; by striking paragraphs
(7)and (8); and by redesignating paragraph
(9)as paragraph (7). Section 4(a)(1) of such Act ( 52 U.S.C. 10303(a)(1) ), as amended by subsection (a), is further amended, in the first sentence, by striking race or color, and inserting race or color, or in contravention of the guarantees of subsection (f)(2), . Section 4(a) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ( 52 U.S.C. 10303(a) ), as amended by subsection (a), is further amended— by striking paragraph (1)(C); by inserting at the beginning of paragraph (7), as redesignated by subsection (a)(2)(H), the following: Any plaintiff seeking a declaratory judgment under this subsection on the grounds that the plaintiff meets the requirements of paragraph
(1)may request that the Attorney General consent to entry of judgment. ; and by adding at the end the following: If a political subdivision is subject to the application of this subsection, due to the applicability of subsection (b)(1)(A), the political subdivision may seek a declaratory judgment under this section if the subdivision demonstrates that the subdivision meets the criteria established by the subparagraphs of paragraph (1), for the 10 years preceding the date on which subsection
(a)applied to the political subdivision under subsection (b)(1)(A). If a political subdivision was not subject to the application of this subsection by reason of a declaratory judgment entered prior to the date of enactment of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021, and is not, subsequent to that date of enactment, subject to the application of this subsection under subsection (b)(1)(B), then that political subdivision shall not be subject to the requirements of this subsection. .
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Sec. 104
Criteria for coverage of States and political subdivisions
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