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Proposed Federal House Legislation HB2867

Legislation Overview

Title: Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2015

Subject: Civil actions and liability: Federal-Indian relations: Jurisdiction and venue: Racial and ethnic relations: State and local government operations: Voting rights: Government operations and politics

Description: Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2015 This bill amends the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to allow a representative official of an Indian tribe, with authorization from the governing body of the tribe, to request one or more polling places to be located on tribal lands. The state or political subdivision shall provide each requested polling place at no expense to the Indian tribe if certain criteria are met. A federal court shall retain jurisdiction to enforce constitutional voting guarantees, but also certain violations of the Act as well as of any federal prohibition against discrimination on the basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority group, for an appropriate period to prevent commencement of new devices to deny or abridge the right to vote. Requirements are revised for determining which states and political subdivisions are or are not covered by criteria for declaratory judgments that they have not used devices to deny or abridge the right to vote. Any state (and all of its political subdivisions) shall be subject to such requirements for a 10-year period if: 15 or more voting rights violations occurred there during the previous 25 years; or 10 or more violations occurred during the previous 25 years, at least one of which was committed by the state itself (as opposed to a political subdivision within it). Any specific political subdivision of a state shall also be subject to those requirements for a 10-year period if 3 or more violations occurred in it during the previous 25 calendar years. A state or political subdivision that obtains a declaratory judgment that it has not used a device to deny or abridge the right to vote shall be exempt from such requirements unless new violations occur after the declaratory judgment was issued. Each state and each political subdivision shall: (1) identify any newly enacted or adopted law, regulation, or policy that includes a voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or a voting-related standard, practice, or procedure (covered practice); and (2) ensure that no such covered practice is implemented unless or until the state or political subdivision complies with certain preclearance requirements. This bill prescribes transparency requirements, including reasonable public notice, regarding any changes to: (1) voting prerequisites, standards, or procedures; (2) polling place resources; or (3) demographics and electoral districts. Department of Justice authority to assign observers receives new extensions, including authority to assign observers to enforce bilingual election requirements. Courts shall grant preliminary injunctive relief if a complainant raises a serious question whether the challenged covered practice violates the Act or the Constitution and, on balance, the hardship imposed upon the defendant by the relief will be less than the hardship on the plaintiff if the relief were not granted.

Session: 114th Congress

Last Action: Motion to Discharge Committee filed by Mr. Aguilar. Petition No: 114-4. ( ">Discharge petition text with signatures.)

Last Action Date: June 15, 2016

Link: https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2867/all-info

Companion Bill: SB1659

Sponsors

Note: the first sponsor listed is normally the primary sponsor. If a sponsor's name is a hyperlink you can click on it to 'follow the money'.

180 sponsors: Terri Sewell (D); Judy Chu (D); Linda Sanchez (D); John Lewis (D); Marc Veasey (D); Cheri Bustos (D); Robert Brady (D); Joyce Beatty (D); Chris Van Hollen (D); James Clyburn (D); Nancy Pelosi (D); Brendan Boyle (D); Jerrold Nadler (D); Eleanor Norton (D); Michael Honda (D); Barbara Lee (D); Marcy Kaptur (D); Donna Edwards (D); Lloyd Doggett (D); John Conyers (D); Cedric Richmond (D); Janice Schakowsky (D); Peter Welch (D); Keith Ellison (D); David Price (D); Ed Perlmutter (D); Maxine Waters (D); Chaka Fattah (D); Gene Green (D); Joaquin Castro (D); Diana DeGette (D); Donald Norcross (D); Brenda Lawrence (D); Richard Nolan (D); Rosa DeLauro (D); John Carney (D); Jared Huffman (D); Sean Maloney (D); Niki Tsongas (D); Doris Matsui (D); Ted Lieu (D); Betty McCollum (D); Mike Thompson (D); Derek Kilmer (D); Ron Kind (D); Lucille Roybal-Allard (D); Joe Courtney (D); John Yarmuth (D); James Himes (D); Mike Quigley (D); Frank Pallone (D); Karen Bass (D); C.A. Ruppersberger (D); Robin Kelly (D); Steve Cohen (D); Earl Blumenauer (D); Steny Hoyer (D); Janice Hahn (D); Stacey Plaskett (D); Danny Davis (D); Sheila Jackson-Lee (D); Steve Israel (D); Henry Johnson (D); Ben Lujan (D); James McGovern (D); Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D); Gregory Meeks (D); Mark DeSaulnier (D); Alcee Hastings (D); G. Butterfield (D); Norma Torres (D); Frederica Wilson (D); Mark Takai (D); John Larson (D); Albio Sires (D); David Cicilline (D); Grace Napolitano (D); Sander Levin (D); Jared Polis (D); Jose Serrano (D); Suzan DelBene (D); Ann Kirkpatrick (D); Mark Takano (D); Lois Frankel (D); Eliot Engel (D); Patrick Murphy (D); Paul Tonko (D); Alma Adams (D); Grace Meng (D); Pete Aguilar (D); Beto O'Rourke (D); Seth Moulton (D); Elijah Cummings (D); Gwen Moore (D); Louise Slaughter (D); Peter DeFazio (D); James Langevin (D); Carolyn Maloney (D); John Delaney (D); Bill Foster (D); Kathy Castor (D); Eddie Johnson (D); Richard Neal (D); Joseph Crowley (D); Don Beyer (D); Daniel Kildee (D); Ruben Hinojosa (D); Nita Lowey (D); Luis Gutierrez (D); John Garamendi (D); Zoe Lofgren (D); Timothy Walz (D); Peter Visclosky (D); Kathleen Rice (D); Jackie Speier (D); Xavier Becerra (D); Denny Heck (D); Dina Titus (D); John Sarbanes (D); Al Green (D); Emanuel Cleaver (D); Sanford Bishop (D); Corrine Brown (D); Andre Carson (D); Yvette Clarke (D); Lacy Clay (D); Bonnie Coleman (D); Marcia Fudge (D); Hakeem Jeffries (D); Donald Payne (D); Bennie Thompson (D); Bobby Rush (D); Robert Scott (D); Charles Rangel (D); Ann Kuster (D); Loretta Sanchez (D); Susan Davis (D); Adam Smith (D); Jerry McNerney (D); Matthew Cartwright (D); Anna Eshoo (D); David Scott (D); Katherine Clark (D); Eric Swalwell (D); Sam Farr (D); Raul Grijalva (D); Mark Pocan (D); Gerald Connolly (D); Michelle Lujan Grisham (D); Lois Capps (D); Theodore Deutch (D); Juan Vargas (D); Bill Pascrell (D); Tony Cardenas (D); Chellie Pingree (D); Julia Brownley (D); Tammy Duckworth (D); Nydia Velazquez (D); Suzanne Bonamici (D); Adam Schiff (D); Jim McDermott (D); Ruben Gallego (D); Rick Larsen (D); Michael Capuano (D); Michael Doyle (D); Brian Higgins (D); William Keating (D); Elizabeth Esty (D); Kurt Schrader (D); Alan Grayson (D); Tim Ryan (D); David Loebsack (D); Debbie Dingell (D); Ami Bera (D); Brad Sherman (D); Alan Lowenthal (D); Stephen Lynch (D); Jim Costa (D); Joseph Kennedy (D); Gwen Graham (D)

History

Chamber	Date	Action
House	Jun 15 2016	Motion to Discharge Committee filed by Mr. Aguilar. Petition No: 114-4. ( ">Discharge petition text with signatures.)
House	Jul 9 2015	Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
House	Jun 24 2015	Introduced in House
House	Jun 24 2015	Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Texts

Type	Date	Federal Link	Text
Introduced	Jun 30 2015	federal bill text	bill text

Amendments

Title	Description	Date	State Link	Text	Adopted
There are no amendments to this bill at this time

Committee

Chamber:

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Votes

There have not been any votes on this bill