Issue Report: December 5, 2019
House Democrats Restore the Vote with H.R. 4, the Voting Rights Advancement Act
Six years ago, the Supreme Court struck down key voting rights protections in the Shelby County v. Holder case. Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 established a process called “preclearance,” which worked to block voter discrimination before it occurred by requiring jurisdictions with a history of voter discrimination to obtain approval before changing voting rules. In its decision, the Supreme Court struck down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, which determined which states and localities were covered by Section 5, and ruled that Congress must pass a new formula to determine which states and localities would be subject to “preclearance.” Since that decision, nearly two dozen states have implemented voter suppression tactics.