H.R. 5879

119 HR 5879 IH: SAD Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-10-31
 text/xml
 EN
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 I  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. R. 5879  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   October 31, 2025   Mr. Vicente Gonzalez of Texas  (for himself,  Mr. Doggett ,  Mr. Veasey ,  Mr. Castro of Texas ,  Ms. Garcia of Texas , and  Ms. Escobar ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on the Judiciary    A BILL
To prohibit States from carrying out more than one Congressional redistricting after a decennial census and appointment unless it is strictly mandated in the legislation used to implement the new Congressional map or it is necessary to comply with the Constitution of the United States, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, or the Constitution of the State, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title; finding of constitutional authority
(a)
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Save American Democracy Act   or the  SAD Act .
(b)
Finding of Constitutional authority
Congress finds that it has the authority to establish the terms and conditions States must follow in carrying out Congressional redistricting after an apportionment of Members of the House of Representatives because—
(1)
the authority granted to Congress under article I, section 4 of the Constitution of the United States gives Congress the power to enact laws governing the time, place, and manner of elections for Members of the House of Representatives; and
(2)
the authority granted to Congress under section 5 of the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution gives Congress the power to enact laws to enforce section 2 of such amendment, which requires Representatives to be apportioned among the several States according to their number.
2.
Prohibition with respect to mid-decade redistricting
(a)
In general
A State which has redistricted in the manner provided by law after an apportionment under section 22(a) of the Act entitled  An Act to provide for the fifteenth and subsequent decennial censuses and to provide for an apportionment of Representatives in Congress , approved June 18, 1929 ( 2 U.S.C. 2a ), may not be redistricted again until after the next apportionment under such Act unless—
(1)
a court requires the State to conduct such subsequent redistricting to comply with the Constitution of the United States, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ( 52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq. ), or the Constitution of the State; or
(2)
legislation enacted by the State to implement such redistricting expressly requires such subsequent redistricting.
(b)
Rule of construction
Nothing in this Act may be construed to affect the manner in which a State carries out elections for State or local office.
(c)
Effective date
This section shall apply with respect to any Congressional redistricting which occurs after the regular decennial census conducted during 2020.