Congressional Democrats have reintroduced the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The legislation, named after the late civil rights leader and Georgia representative, would reinforce the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which the Supreme Court and Republican governments have weakened. Though the act has little chance of becoming law now, it sends a signal that Democrats have not given up on the fight for voting rights.

Democrats revive John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act in Congress

Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., reintroduced the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act on Tuesday, just before the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The bill would restore and strengthen aspects of the Voting Rights Act. Among other things, it would reinforce the requirement of preclearance, by which states and local governments in areas with a history of voting discrimination have to receive prior approval from the federal government before making changes to their voting laws. The proposed act would also allow for same-day voter registration and protect voters’ rights, such as by preventing voters from being removed from voting rolls if they fail to vote in a previous election. Democratic Congresswoman Terri Sewell of Alabama introduced a version of the bill in the House of Representatives in March, just before the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, in which Lewis and other civil rights activists marched from Selma to Montgomery.

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 29: Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Maya Wiley, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, join civil rights and voting rights advocates to reintroduce the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act outside the U.S. Capitol on July 29, 2025 in Washington, DC. Sixty years after the late Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) was violently attacked crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, the legislation that bears his name would restore and strengthen parts of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, including the requirement for states and jurisdictions with a history of voting rights violations to seek federal approval before enacting certain changes to their voting laws.
Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Maya Wiley, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, join civil rights and voting rights advocates to reintroduce the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act outside the U.S. Capitol on July 29, 2025 in Washington, DC. Sixty years after the late Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) was violently attacked crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, the legislation that bears his name would restore and strengthen parts of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, including the requirement for states and jurisdictions with a history of voting rights violations to seek federal approval before enacting certain changes to their voting laws. | Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 29: Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Maya Wiley, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, join civil rights and voting rights advocates to reintroduce the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act outside the U.S. Capitol on July 29, 2025 in Washington, DC. Sixty years after the late Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) was violently attacked crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, the legislation that bears his name would restore and strengthen parts of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, including the requirement for states and jurisdictions with a history of voting rights violations to seek federal approval before enacting certain changes to their voting laws.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Maya Wiley, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, join civil rights and voting rights advocates to reintroduce the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act outside the U.S. Capitol on July 29, 2025 in Washington, DC. Sixty years after the late Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) was violently attacked crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, the legislation that bears his name would restore and strengthen parts of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, including the requirement for states and jurisdictions with a history of voting rights violations to seek federal approval before enacting certain changes to their voting laws. | Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 29: Senate Democrats, (L-R) Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL), Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) join unions, civil rights and voting rights advocates for a rally to reintroduce the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act outside the U.S. Capitol on July 29, 2025 in Washington, DC. Sixty years after the late Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) was violently attacked crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, the legislation that bears his name would restore and strengthen parts of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, including the requirement for states and jurisdictions with a history of voting rights violations to seek federal approval before enacting certain changes to their voting laws.
Senate Democrats, (L-R) Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL), Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) join unions, civil rights and voting rights advocates for a rally to reintroduce the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act outside the U.S. Capitol on July 29, 2025 in Washington, DC. Sixty years after the late Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) was violently attacked crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, the legislation that bears his name would restore and strengthen parts of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, including the requirement for states and jurisdictions with a history of voting rights violations to seek federal approval before enacting certain changes to their voting laws. | Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

‘Too important to wait’

“The fight to protect voting rights is too important to wait for another election,” Warnock said during a press conference on Tuesday. “That’s why I’m reintroducing the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act today.”

Several other senators joined Warnock, including Democrats Cory Booker of New Jersey and Dick Durbin of Illinois.

Booker said, “This act, this bill has a sense of urgency, necessity, vitality; it is critical if our democracy is gonna continue to thrive.

Durbin cited the Trump administration’s policies in supporting the bill.

“As this Administration continues to chip away at the Voting Rights Act, we’re fighting to strengthen it,” Durbin said of himself and Warnock.

Republicans oppose Voting Rights Act provisions, so is it likely to pass?

The reintroduced Voting Rights Act is unlikely to pass under a Republican-controlled Congress, and it comes as the Trump administration continues years of conservative efforts to undermine the original 1965 law. In 2013, the Supreme Court struck down the preclearance provision of the Voting Rights Act, which allowed numerous states to pass restrictive voting policies. Since 2021, when Democrats introduced the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, Republican opposition has prevented it from passing. Meanwhile, the Trump administration and Republicans in states like Texas are promoting redistricting efforts that they hope will expand the GOP majority in Congress.

In the short run, the bill named after John Lewis will probably be shut down by Republicans, as it has in previous years. But after years of Democrats pushing the legislation that bears the name of their late colleague, the reintroduction of the act shows that the fight for voting rights continues.