Schneider Votes for H.R. 4, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Brad Schneider (IL-10) helped pass H.R. 4, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act – a bill he also helped introduce as a cosponsor.

The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would restore federal oversight for states with a recent history of voter discrimination. Eight years after the Supreme Court's Shelby County v. Holder decision gutted the Voting Rights Act, the legislation addresses a wave of restrictive, anti-voter laws being enacted at the state level.

"Today, the House took bold action to secure voting rights for all Americans and combat voter suppression. To secure our democracy, American voters must have the means to choose the people who represent them and hold those representatives accountable. We cannot sit idly by while self-serving politicians across the country pass laws that disadvantage certain citizens' ability to vote, tactics that would have been prevented from becoming law under the Voting Rights Act before Shelby County v. Holder. The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act is a critical step to prevent voter suppression and guarantee the fundamental right to vote to all eligible citizens. John Lewis devoted his life to the pursuit of voting rights for all. I was personally honored to count him as a friend in his life and am now honored to help further that legacy by passing this historic legislation.," said Congressman Brad Schneider (IL-10).

The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act seeks to restore the full protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Specifically, the bill will take into account the Shelby County v. Holder decision in 2013 by establishing an updated formula for determining which states and localities must obtain federal pre-clearance before making changes to their voting laws. It also establishes a targeted process for reviewing voting changes based on measures that have historically been used to discriminate against voters.

For areas or states to fall under for judicial pre-clearance, they must have the following qualifications:

• States with a history of 15 or more violations at any level in the previous 25 years
• States with a history of 10 or more violations, if one violation occurs at the state level in the previous 25 years
• Subdivisions with 3 or more violations in the subdivision in the previous 25 years

The bill also addresses the decision in Brnovich v. DNC by eliminating the heightened standard created by the Court to challenge racially discriminatory laws under Section 2.

Background:

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is the nation's most effective defense against racially discriminatory voting policies. It has prevented discriminatory barriers to voting across the country for decades.

Since the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in its 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision, and again in the Brnovich v. DNC decision in July 2021, there has been a steady increase in the number of restrictive voting laws that disproportionately suppress turnout among minorities, young adults, and the elderly. This accelerated with the Big Lie of a "stolen election."

Just this year, 18 states have enacted at least 30 laws to restrict access to the vote for millions of voters across the country.

A copy of H.R. 4 can be found here. An executive summary can be found here.

###