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The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021 would restore and strengthen  parts of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.  Signed into law by President Lyndon B Johnson during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, the 1965 Voting Rights Act is landmark legislation that prohibited racial discrimination in voting at the federal level by:

• Enforcing voting rights guaranteed by the 14th and 15th Amendments to the United States Constitution.  

• Securing the right to vote for racial minorities throughout the US; especially in the South.  

• Providing the most effective and far-reaching federal civil rights legislation ever enacted in US history.

Portions of the law were struck down by two separate US Supreme Court decisions leading to voter registration purges, the regulation of ballot collecting, and out-of-precinct voting:

1. Shelby County vs Holder (2013) resulted in significant increases in voter registration purges in jurisdictions that were previously covered by the coverage formula. 

1. Brnovich vs the Democratic National Convention (2021) eliminated the Voting Rights Act's ability to both regulate ballot collecting and out- of- precinct voting.

On August 24, 2021, the US House of Representatives passed the John Lewis Voting Rights bill by a margin of 219 - 212.  It still needs approval by the US Senate before it can be sent to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.