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Right Now

The Voting Rights Advancement Act
​Major Provisions

As Republicans attempt to curtail voting by passing restrictive laws in many state legislatures, Senate Democrats are seeking to pass the Voting Rights Advancement Act, already approved by the House of Representatives, in order to safeguard access to the ballot nationwide. 
 
Concerning the hazards to equal voting rights posed by GOP efforts in the states, the Washington Post wrote, “…the proposed restrictions would amount to the most dramatic curtailment of ballot access since the late-19th century, when Southern states effectively reversed the 15th Amendment’s prohibition on denying the vote based on race by enacting poll taxes, literacy tests and other restrictions that disenfranchised virtually all Black men.”  See more of the Post’s analysis here. 

Among the major provisions of the bill which would combat Republican efforts to effectively disenfranchise progressive voters  are the following:
  • Updating the voter registration system to allow online voter registration and updates, automatic registration via DMV and other governmental agencies unless the voter opts out, and same day voter registration
  • Limiting states' ability to remove voters' names from voting rolls
  • Establishing a uniform national standard regarding deceptive and intimidating practices
  • Restoring federal voting rights to Americans disenfranchised due to a previous criminal conviction
  • Requiring all jurisdictions to use paper ballots
  • Restoring the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 requiring states and localities with histories of discriminatory voting practices to secure federal government approval prior to making any changes to their voting rules
  • Requiring states to
    • allow at least two weeks of early voting for federal elections, for at least 10 hours per day which include some early morning and evening hours
    • ensure that, to the greatest extent practicable, early voting localities are within walking distance of public transportation, accessible to rural voters, and located on college campuses
    • begin processing and scanning ballots cast during early voting for tabulation at least two weeks before the date of the election
    • allow any eligible voter to vote by mail in federal elections and transmit mail-in ballot applications to all registered voters at least 60 days before election day
    • protect voting rights for absent military and overseas voters by ensuring they receive their ballots in time to return them by the deadline 
    • allow students to vote in the jurisdiction where they are attending school
    • provide notices of polling place changes at least 7 days before an election and provide a sufficient number of drop-boxes for ballots, starting at least 45 days before an election.
March 18, 2021

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