Establishes "John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act of New Jersey." **

A $2.5 million appropriation was added to fund implementation of the act.

Section 2(c), which required that all voting policies be narrowly tailored to a compelling policy justification supported by substantial evidence, was entirely removed from the bill.

The detailed list of six rebuttable presumptions in Section 5(b) (covering precinct closures, election date changes, language assistance failures, misaligned election dates, and special election timing) was removed entirely.

Section 6 (vote dilution) was restructured to use a single standard regardless of whether at-large or district-based methods are used, rather than having separate tests for each. The detailed evidence-weighing rules were replaced with broader guidance about what courts shall and shall not consider.

The definition of 'protected class' was simplified, removing references to federal VRA interpretation and Census Bureau minimum reporting categories. The definition of 'deceptive or fraudulent device' now requires the information to be 'intentionally false' rather than merely false.

New definitions for 'covered entity,' 'covered policy,' and 'method of election' were added, while the definition of 'alternative method of election' (which included ranked-choice voting, cumulative voting, and limited voting) was removed.

The 'preclearance' definition was narrowed to require approval only from the Attorney General, removing the option of court preclearance that existed in the introduced version.

The Attorney General's role was restructured: the AG can now issue advisory opinions to covered entities at their request, and a new provision allows the AG to provide representation or advice to political subdivisions that request it, with internal screening procedures to avoid conflicts of interest. The previous blanket prohibition on the AG representing state government in voting matters was removed.

A new defense was added in Section 5(c): a political subdivision can avoid a finding of violation by demonstrating with clear and convincing evidence that its action is narrowly tailored to further a compelling governmental interest and no less-disruptive alternative exists. However, Section 5(d) provides this defense is unavailable if the action was intended to create a disparity.

Section 7(d), which listed seven factors courts could NOT consider in vote dilution cases (including long pedigree of a practice, identical practices elsewhere, availability of other voting methods, and mere invocation of voter confidence), was removed. Section 7(e), which prohibited sovereign and governmental immunities from limiting discovery, was also removed.

Section 8 (remedies) was drastically simplified: the detailed lists of specific remedies for vote dilution and voter suppression violations (including ranked-choice voting, cumulative voting, body size increases, staggered term elimination, etc.) were replaced with general language giving courts broad discretion to order 'any remedy which may be appropriate under the circumstances.'

A new exception was added to Section 5 (voter suppression): laws passed by the State Legislature under Article IV, Section IV, paragraph 6 of the State Constitution cannot be facially invalidated under this act.

Section 9 (protections beyond race) was narrowed: 'age' and 'criminal history' were removed as protected categories, 'sex' was added, and the standard for justifying burdens was lowered from 'compelling policy justification' to 'important policy justification.'

Section 10 (redistricting process requirements) now only applies if the political subdivision is a 'covered entity' under Section 13's preclearance program, rather than applying to all political subdivisions. Public hearings may now be held virtually.

The pre-suit notice period in Section 11 was changed: the waiting period before filing suit is now 50 days or until receipt of a written denial, whichever is earlier. The cure period for a political subdivision that passes an NJVEA resolution was extended from 90 days after passage to 140 days after receipt of the notification letter.