John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2025

S. 2523, introduced by Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), establishes new criteria for federal oversight of state and local voting law changes through a process called preclearance, requiring approval from the Department of Justice or a federal court before changes take effect. States face 10-year preclearance requirements if they had 15 or more voting rights violations in the previous 25 years, or 10 or more violations with at least one committed by the state itself; individual counties or districts face the same requirement if they had three or more violations in that period. The bill requires states and political subdivisions to publicly notify voters of voting practice changes and authorizes the Justice Department to demand documents and answers from officials enforcing voting rights laws. The bill also includes protections for election workers, polling places, and election infrastructure, and specifies factors courts must consider when reviewing challenges to voting practices.

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