S. 4 would reestablish a “preclearance” process similar to what existed under the 1965 Voting Rights Act prior to 2013. Under it, states would be required to obtain permission from the U.S. Department of Justice prior to implementing modifications to their election laws. The types of election laws subject to preclearance under S. 4 include redistricting, and the bill effectively prohibits new voter-ID laws or rollbacks of “multilingual voting materials.” S. 4 would also make it easier for the federal government and others to take legal action against state election laws.
The Senate did not vote directly on S. 4, but on a motion to invoke cloture (and thus limit debate) so the bill could be voted on. The motion to invoke cloture was rejected on November 3, 2021 by a vote of 50 to 49 (Roll Call 459; a three-fifths majority of the entire Senate is required to invoke cloture). We have assigned pluses to the nays because not only does this bill undermine election integrity, it infringes upon state sovereignty as established under the 10th Amendment, subjugating it to the whims of federal bureaucrats.
