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HR 3899 113th Congress House Government Operations and Politics Civil actions and liability Elections, voting, political campaign regulation Federal appellate courts Foreign language and bilingual programs Jurisdiction and venue Racial and ethnic relations State and local government operations Voting rights

Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014

Introduced: January 16, 2014 See on congress.gov
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Mar 20, 2014
Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
Jan 16, 2014
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Jan 16, 2014
Introduced in House
 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014 - Amends the Voting Rights Act of 1965 with respect to the requirement that a federal court retain jurisdiction for an appropriate period to prevent commencement of new devices to deny or abridge the right to vote. Expands the types of violations triggering the authority of a court to retain such jurisdiction to include certain violations of the Act as well as violations of any federal voting rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority group.

Excludes from the list of violations triggering jurisdiction retention authority any voting qualification or prerequisite which results in a denial or abridgement of the right to vote that is based on the imposition of a requirement that an individual provide a photo identification as a condition of receiving a ballot for voting in a federal, state, or local election.

Revises requirements for determining which states and political subdivisions are covered or not covered by criteria for declaratory judgments that they have not used devices to deny or abridge the right to vote.

Subjects to the requirements for making such a determination any state (and all of its political subdivisions) during a calendar if 5 or more voting rights violations occurred in the state during the previous 15 years, at least one of which was committed by the state itself (as opposed to a political subdivision within it).

Specifies application of such new coverage requirements to any specific political subdivision if: (1) 3 or more voting rights violations occurred in it during the previous 15 calendar years; or (2) 1 or more voting rights violations occurred in it during the previous 15 calendar years and the subdivision had persistent, extremely low minority turnout during that period.

Provides that, if a state obtains a declaratory judgment that it has not used a device to deny or abridge the right to vote, the requirements for a new declaratory judgment generally will not apply, unless the new coverage requirements of this Act apply to the state solely on the basis of voting rights violations occurring after the declaratory judgment was issued.

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.

Modifies authority to assign observers, including authorizing the assignment of observers to enforce bilingual election requirements.

Revises requirements for injunctive relief, including its scope and the persons authorized to seek relief as well as the grounds for granting it.

What's happening now March 20, 2014

Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
 Cosponsors 66
D
Kaptur, Marcy
Ohio · Dec 2, 2014
D
Lynch, Stephen F.
Massachusetts · Sep 10, 2014
D
Veasey, Marc A.
Texas · Jul 10, 2014
D
Ruiz, Raul
California · Jul 7, 2014
D
Wilson, Frederica S.
Florida · Jul 7, 2014
D
Beatty, Joyce
Ohio · Jun 25, 2014
D
Bera, Ami
California · Jun 25, 2014
D
Bishop, Sanford D.
Georgia · Jun 25, 2014
D
Bonamici, Suzanne
Oregon · Jun 25, 2014
D
Brownley, Julia
California · Jun 25, 2014
D
Carson, André
Indiana · Jun 25, 2014
D
Castor, Kathy
Florida · Jun 25, 2014
D
Chu, Judy
California · Jun 25, 2014
D
Clark, Katherine M.
Massachusetts · Jun 25, 2014
D
Cleaver, Emanuel
Missouri · Jun 25, 2014
D
Clyburn, James E.
South Carolina · Jun 25, 2014
D
Cohen, Steve
Tennessee · Jun 25, 2014
D
Costa, Jim
California · Jun 25, 2014
D
Cuellar, Henry
Texas · Jun 25, 2014
D
Davis, Danny K.
Illinois · Jun 25, 2014
D
DeGette, Diana
Colorado · Jun 25, 2014
D
DeLauro, Rosa L.
Connecticut · Jun 25, 2014
D
Doggett, Lloyd
Texas · Jun 25, 2014
D
Foster, Bill
Illinois · Jun 25, 2014
D
Frankel, Lois
Florida · Jun 25, 2014
D
Garamendi, John
California · Jun 25, 2014
D
Himes, James A.
Connecticut · Jun 25, 2014
D
Huffman, Jared
California · Jun 25, 2014
D
Jeffries, Hakeem S.
New York · Jun 25, 2014
D
Johnson, Henry C. "Hank"
Georgia · Jun 25, 2014
D
Larsen, Rick
Washington · Jun 25, 2014
D
Larson, John B.
Connecticut · Jun 25, 2014
D
Lofgren, Zoe
California · Jun 25, 2014
D
McCollum, Betty
Minnesota · Jun 25, 2014
D
McGovern, James P.
Massachusetts · Jun 25, 2014
D
Meeks, Gregory W.
New York · Jun 25, 2014
D
Meng, Grace
New York · Jun 25, 2014
D
Moore, Gwen
Wisconsin · Jun 25, 2014
D
Nadler, Jerrold
New York · Jun 25, 2014
D
Norton, Eleanor Holmes
District of Columbia · Jun 25, 2014
D
Pelosi, Nancy
California · Jun 25, 2014
D
Pingree, Chellie
Maine · Jun 25, 2014
D
Pocan, Mark
Wisconsin · Jun 25, 2014
D
Schiff, Adam B.
California · Jun 25, 2014
D
Schneider, Bradley Scott
Illinois · Jun 25, 2014
D
Sherman, Brad
California · Jun 25, 2014
D
Smith, Adam
Washington · Jun 25, 2014
D
Takano, Mark
California · Jun 25, 2014
D
Thompson, Mike
California · Jun 25, 2014
D
Titus, Dina
Nevada · Jun 25, 2014
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