H.R. 4 · 117th Congress

John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021

Introduced on Aug 17, 2021 by Terri A. Sewell (D-AL-7). 223 cosponsors, all from the sponsor's party. Latest action (Sep 14, 2021): Received in the Senate.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Aug 17, 2021
Cosponsors
223
0 from the other party
Policy area
Government Operations and Politics
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

To amend the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to revise the criteria for determining which States and political subdivisions are subject to section 4 of the Act, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Administrative law and regulatory procedures
  • Constitution and constitutional amendments
  • Department of Justice
  • Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
  • Federal-Indian relations
  • Jurisdiction and venue
  • Racial and ethnic relations
  • State and local government operations
  • Voting rights

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Passed House, Aug 24, 2021). Public domain.

John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021

This bill establishes new criteria for determining which states and political subdivisions must obtain preclearance before changes to voting practices may take effect. Preclearance is the process of receiving preapproval from the Department of Justice (DOJ) or the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before making legal changes that would affect voting rights.

A state and all of its political subdivisions shall be subject to preclearance of voting practice changes for a 10-year period if

  • 15 or more voting rights violations occurred in the state during the previous 25 years;
  • 10 or more violations occurred during the previous 25 years, at least 1 of which was committed by the state itself; or
  • 3 or more violations occurred during the previous 25 years and the state administers the elections.

A political subdivision as a separate unit shall also be subject to preclearance for a 10-year period if three or more voting rights violations occurred there during the previous 25 years.

States and political subdivisions that meet certain thresholds regarding minority groups must preclear covered practices before implementation, such as changes to methods of election and redistricting.

Further, states and political subdivisions must notify the public of changes to voting practices.

Next, the bill authorizes DOJ to require states or political subdivisions to provide certain documents or answers to questions for enforcing voting rights.

The bill also outlines factors courts must consider when hearing challenges to voting practices, such as the extent of any history of official voting discrimination in the state or political subdivision.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Terri A. SewellD-AL-7Sponsor

Democrats · 223

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

  1. On Motion to Recommit
    Aug 24, 2021· House· Procedural· Failed 212–218
  2. On Passage
    Aug 24, 2021· House· Passage· Passed 219–212

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Aug 17, 2021Introduced in House
  2. Aug 17, 2021Introduced in House
  3. Aug 17, 2021 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
  4. Aug 24, 2021Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H4369)
  5. Aug 24, 2021 · HouseConsidered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 601. (consideration: CR H4384-4415)
  6. Aug 24, 2021 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H.R. 4.
  7. Aug 24, 2021 · HouseThe previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule.
  8. Aug 24, 2021 · HouseMr. Davis, Rodney moved to recommit to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text: CR H4413)
  9. Aug 24, 2021 · HouseThe previous question on the motion to recommit was ordered pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XIX.
  10. Aug 24, 2021 · HouseOn motion to recommit Failed by the Yeas and Nays: 212 - 218 (Roll no. 259).House · Roll call 259
  11. Aug 24, 2021Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 219 - 212 (Roll no. 260).(text: CR H4384-4391)House · Roll call 260
  12. Aug 24, 2021 · HouseOn passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 219 - 212 (Roll no. 260). (text: CR H4384-4391)House · Roll call 260
  13. Aug 24, 2021 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  14. Sep 14, 2021 · SenateReceived in the Senate.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Who lobbied on it

Organizations whose lobbying reports (LD-2) name this measure. Spending is what they reported for those quarters on all issues, not on this measure alone.

  1. LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF THE U.S.1 report
    $80K reported (all issues)

Reports filed in 2026.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 5, 2026 · loaded Oct 5, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.
  • Money and votes are shown side by side; neither explains the other.