众议院周二通过了约翰·刘易斯投票权促进法案旨在加强这是里程碑式的1965年《投票权法案》的关键组成部分，此前该法案被最高法院的两项裁决削弱。
该法案以已故民权偶像的名字命名，最终以219票对212票在众议院获得通过。没有共和党的支持。
HR 4将恢复1965年选举权法案的预先批准公式，该公式于2013年被最高法院否决。
在阿拉巴马州谢尔比县向华盛顿特区提起诉讼后，《选举权法案法案》第5条被删除，该条是授权联邦审查地方选举法和有选民歧视历史的州的关键条款。最高法院裁定，要求各州在改变投票程序之前寻求司法部的批准是违宪的。
最近，至少有17个共和党领导的州立法机构通过了投票限制，民主党人和投票权倡导者表示，该法案将确保少数族裔选民获得选票。
“破坏人民的能力是不爱国的，人民有投票权和投票的权利。正如约翰所知，我们民主的这一宝贵支柱正受到自吉姆·克劳以来美国最严重的选民压制运动的攻击。众议院议长南希·佩洛西(Nancy Pelosi)在众议院的一次辩论中表示:“2013年提到的危险的谢尔比诉霍尔德(Shelby v. Holder)案释放了这种情绪，2021年，州议员提出了400多项镇压法案。
众议院共和党人抨击该法案为“联邦接管”选举民主党人的“夺权”会破坏州选举进程。
该法案的作者、阿拉巴马州民主党众议员特里·苏厄尔(Terri Sewell)告诉记者，为了打击民主党人所说的全国范围内的选民压制，联邦干预是必要的。
苏厄尔在与得克萨斯州众议员希拉·李庚翔和来自得克萨斯州的民主党州议员的联合记者招待会上说:“旧的战斗又变成了新的战斗。”这些议员在“逃离”家乡后一直留在该州首府打破法定人数六周前阻止了一项新的州选举法。
“当我们看到各州失控时，我们需要联邦监督。如果没有联邦政府的监督，我们不仅不会得到选举权法案，也不会得到民权法案。谢尔比诉霍尔德案判决后，我们看到像北卡罗来纳州和德克萨斯州这样的州恢复了限制性投票法，这些投票法是压制性的、压迫性的和压抑的。他们阻止需要投票的人投票。
去年，在刘易斯去世后，众议院通过了一项较旧版本的投票权法案，但最终止步不前。今年，该法案在提交参议院时也面临着类似的艰苦斗争，在这个平分秋色的机构中，共和党人强烈反对。
House passes John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act
The House on Tuesday passed the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act legislation thataims to strengthena key component of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965 after it was weakened by two Supreme Court decisions.
The legislation, named after the late civil rights icon, passed the House with a final vote of 219- 212. There was no Republican support.
HR 4 would restore the pre-clearance formula from the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2013.
Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, a key provision that mandated federal review of local election laws and states with a history of voter discrimination, was removed after Shelby County, Alabama, filed a lawsuit in Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court ruled that requiring states to seek approval from the Department of Justice prior to changing voting procedures was unconstitutional.
With at least 17 Republican-led state legislatures passing voting restrictions recently, Democrats and voting-rights advocates said the bill will ensure ballot access for minority voters.
"It is unpatriotic to undermine the ability of people, who have the right to vote and to have access to the polls. As John knew, this precious pillar of our democracy is under attack from what is the worst voter suppression campaign in America since Jim Crow. Unleashed by the dangerous Shelby v. Holder as mentioned in 2013, in 2021 state lawmakers have introduced over 400 suppression bills," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said during a debate on the House floor.
House Republicans blasted the bill as a "federal takeover ofelections" and a "power grab" by Democrats who would undermine the state election process.
Alabama Democratic Rep. Terri Sewell, who authored the bill, told reporters that federal intervention is necessary to combat what Democrats describe as voter suppression across the country.
"Old battles have become new again," Sewell said in a joint presser with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, and Democratic state lawmakers from Texas who have remained in the nation's capital after "fleeing" their home state tobreak quorumover six weeks ago to prevent a new state election law.
"When we see states running amuck, we need federal oversight. If it wasn't for federal oversight, we not only would not have gotten the Voting Rights Act, we wouldn't have gotten the Civil Rights Act. After the Shelby v. Holder decision, we saw states like North Carolina and Texas reinstate restrictive voting laws and those voting laws are suppressive, oppressive, and depressive. They stop the people who need to vote from voting," Sewell said Tuesday.
The House passed an older version of the voting rights act last year following the death of Lewis, but it ultimately stalled. The bill now faces a similar uphill battle this year as it moves to the Senate, where there is strong Republican opposition in the evenly divided body.
