Tuesday (August 24) night, the United States House of Representatives passed the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, also known as the H.R.4. This special piece of legislation aims to strengthen key components of the civil rights landmark, Voting Rights Act of 1965. Despite no Republican supporting the legislation, named after the beloved icon, passed the House with a vote of 219- 212.

The H.R. 4 is headed to the Senate and is facing steep opposition by the GOP. Republicans say the legislation is nothing more than federal overreach. Some of the benefits include restoring the so-called pre-clearance formula from the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2013. The John Lewis Act would prohibit jurisdictions from implementing any change that would affect voting without receiving preapproval from the U.S. attorney general or the U.S. District Court for D.C. We will keep you posted.

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