John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2025

Named for the late civil-rights leader and Georgia Congressman John Lewis, this is a comprehensive rewrite of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, aimed at restoring the federal oversight role that the Supreme Court effectively dismantled in its 2013 Shelby County v. Holder ruling. Title I would revive Section 5 "preclearance" — the longstanding requirement that jurisdictions with histories of voting discrimination get federal approval before changing their voting rules — under a new, rolling coverage formula based on recent violations (for example, a state with 15 or more voting-rights violations over the past 25 years would be covered). It would also require preclearance nationwide for a specific list of "known practices" whenever any jurisdiction changes them, including voter-ID requirements, polling-place closures or consolidations, voter-roll purges, documentation rules, and redistricting after significant demographic change. Other sections strengthen Section 2 so plaintiffs can more readily prove that a voting rule dilutes or denies minority voting power (reversing recent Supreme Court narrowing), broaden the court-ordered "bail-in" remedy so jurisdictions that commit any federal voting-rights violation can be placed under preclearance, expand bilingual ballot requirements and Native American voting protections, beef up the federal election-observer program, guarantee attorney's fees for successful plaintiffs, and expand Justice Department enforcement authority. Title II creates new federal criminal penalties of up to six months in jail (or a year with bodily injury or a weapon) for physically threatening or intimidating election workers, poll watchers, ballot-counting staff, and the physical or digital infrastructure those workers use — a direct response to the wave of threats against election officials following the 2020 election.