S.Amdt. 4753

This amendment proposes to replace the entirety of bill S. 1383 with the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2026 and the Election Worker and Polling Place Protection Act.

The primary purpose of this amendment is to modernize and strengthen the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by adding new protections and accountability measures.

Key Changes and Additions

• Voting Rights Protections: It updates the standards for proving vote dilution, denial, and abridgment. It establishes new criteria for "covered practices" that require preclearance and creates a new process to determine which states and political subdivisions are subject to these requirements based on voting rights violations over the previous 25 years.

• Transparency and Access: It requires states and political subdivisions to provide public notice of changes to voting qualifications or procedures. It also mandates the public posting of polling place resources, such as the number of voting machines and poll workers assigned to specific locations.

• Legal Authority and Enforcement: The amendment expands the authority of the Attorney General to assign observers and issue demands for information. It also allows "aggrieved persons" to institute legal actions for preventive relief.

• Protection of Election Workers: Through the Election Worker and Polling Place Protection Act, the amendment creates criminal penalties—including fines and imprisonment—for those who use force, threats, or violence to interfere with or intimidate voters, poll watchers, election officials, and election infrastructure.