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118th Congress Government Operations and Politics

H.R. 5295: Expanding the VOTE Act

Introduced

  1. Introduced (completed)Aug 25, 2023
  2. Passed House (not reached)
  3. Passed Senate (not reached)
  4. To the President (not reached)
  5. Became law (not reached)

Summary

Introduced in House, Aug 25, 2023

This bill expands access to voting materials for individuals with limited proficiency in the English language.

Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) requires covered states and political subdivisions to provide voting materials and other language assistance to persons who are American Indian, Asian American, Alaskan Natives, or of Spanish heritage and whose ability to speak or understand English limits electoral participation. A state or political subdivision that is subject to Section 203 is prohibited from providing English-only voting materials in an election. Among other requirements, this bill (1) requires the Department of Justice to issue a notice of prohibition, including the trigger threshold at which the prohibition applies, to certain states and political subdivisions; and (2) requires covered states and political subdivisions to provide written translations of all voting materials, with the consent of any applicable tribal government, to election workers.

Additionally, the bill requires the Election Assistance Commission to make incentive grants for states and political subdivisions to provide translated voting materials.

Read the full summary

The bill also directs the Government Accountability Office to study and report on the impact of (1) reducing the threshold requirement under Section 203 of the VRA, and (2) expanding the definition of language minorities to include native speakers of additional languages.

Written by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.

Roll calls

0 votes on this bill

No roll call votes have been held on this bill.

Amendments

0 offered

No amendments were offered to this bill.

Cosponsors

115

Who scored on this bill

18 points earned
  1. 1Nikema Williams D-GA SponsorReached a cosponsor milestone, introduced4 events+18
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Introductions and cosponsorships count toward weekly caps and show no points.

Other bills by Nikema Williams

History

  1. Aug 25, 2023Introduced in the House by Nikema Williams.
Show the full action history (2 actions)
  1. Aug 25, 2023Introduced in House
  2. Aug 25, 2023Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.