H.R. 3899: Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014

113th Congress · introduced 2014-01-16 · Government Operations and Politics · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2014-01-16 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Sensenbrenner, F. James, Jr. [R-WI-5] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014

Plain summary

Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014 - Amends the Voting Rights Act of 1965 with respect to the requirement that a federal court retain jurisdiction for an appropriate period to prevent commencement of new devices to deny or abridge the right to vote. Expands the types of violations triggering the authority of a court to retain such jurisdiction to include certain violations of the Act as well as violations of any federal voting rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority group. Excludes from the list of violations triggering jurisdiction retention authority any voting qualification or prerequisite which results in a denial or abridgement of the right to vote that is based on the imposition of a requirement that an individual provide a photo identification as a condition of receiving a ballot for voting in a federal, state, or local election. Revises requirements for determining which states and political subdivisions are covered or not covered by criteria for declaratory judgments that they have not used devices to deny or abridge the right to vote. Subjects to the requirements for making such a determination any state (and all of its political subdivisions) during a calendar if 5 or more voting rights violations occurred in the state during the previous 15 years, at least one of which was committed by the state itself (as opposed to a political subdivision within it). Specifies application of such new coverage requirements to any specific political subdivision if: (1) 3 or more voting rights violations occurred in it during the previous 15 calendar years; or (2) 1 or more voting rights violations occurred in it during the previous 15 calendar years and the subdivision had persistent, extremely low minority turnout during that period. Provides that, if a state obtains a declaratory judgment that it has not used a device to deny or abridge the right to vote, the requirements for a new declaratory judgment generally will not apply, unless the new coverage requirements of this Act apply to the state solely on the basis of voting rights violations occurring after the declaratory judgment was issued. Prescribes transparency requirements, including reasonable public notice, regarding any changes to: (1) voting prerequisites, standards, or procedures; (2) polling place resources; or (3) demographics and electoral districts. Modifies authority to assign observers, including authorizing the assignment of observers to enforce bilingual election requirements. Revises requirements for injunctive relief, including its scope and the persons authorized to seek relief as well as the grounds for granting it.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Sensenbrenner, F. James, Jr. [R-WI-5] · 177 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD), Doris O. Matsui (D-CA), Joe Courtney (D-CT), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL), Scott H. Peters (D-CA), Steven Horsford (D-NV), Suzan K. DelBene (D-WA), Michael R. Turner (R-OH), Linda T. Sánchez (D-CA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), James P. McGovern (D-MA), James A. Himes (D-CT), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Hakeem S. Jeffries (D-NY), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Katherine M. Clark (D-MA), Juan Vargas (D-CA) and 117 more.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (3)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Jurisdiction: The area or the matters a government or court has authority over.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-113hr3899.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/113/hr>

Record fed-us-cong113-hr3899 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong113 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong113