HR 4: John Lewis Voting Rights Act
In 2013, the Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County v. Holder gutted key provisions of the Voting Rights Act and set the stage for the rampant increase in voter suppression we’ve seen throughout the country. The original Voting Rights Act of 1965 required states with a record of racial disrimination and voter suppression to submit any change in election procedures for approval in advance before any changes could take place. This approval process was called preclearance. H.R. 4, which is named after the late congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis, a man who risked his life for the right to vote, would restore the Voting Rights Act after it was gutted by the Supreme Court in 2013 and re-establish the preclearance requirements ... However, voter ID, and other voter protection elements are wildly popular with voters ( 75% support voter ID).
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House passes John Lewis voting rights bill that's set to stall in Senate

8/24/21
from Politico,
8/24/21:

The House on Tuesday passed voting rights legislation named for the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a party-line vote that underscores the bill's nearly impassable upward climb in the Senate.

Senate Republicans filibustered a more sweeping Democratic elections bill in June and most also oppose the more targeted voting proposal.

It is unlikely to advance further in the Senate, where the legislative filibuster remains intact despite a progressive push for changes that would weaken the chamber's supermajority requirement to pass most bills. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has cast doubt on the need for the proposal, arguing that the Supreme Court only eliminated the preclearance formula determining which jurisdictions needed federal approval to make substantive changes to voting laws — not the voting rights protections themselves. Advocates, on the other hand, say the voting protections are toothless without that preclearance formula.

The Lewis-named bill only has one GOP sponsor in the Senate, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

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