- Record: Senate Floor
- Section type: Legislation
- Chamber: Senate
- Date: April 27, 2026
- Congress: 119th Congress
- Why this source matters: This section came from the Senate floor portion of the record.
By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Merkley, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Van
Hollen, Ms. Warren, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Padilla,
Mr. Markey, and Mr. Welch):
S.J. Res. 186. A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to the fundamental right to vote; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.
- printed in the Record, as follows:
S.J. Res. 186
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds
of each House concurring therein), That the following article
is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United
States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as
part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of
three-fourths of the several States:
“Article —
“Section 1. Every citizen of the United States, who is of
legal voting age, shall have the fundamental right to vote in
any public election held in the jurisdiction in which the
citizen resides.
“Section 2. The fundamental right of citizens of the
United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the
United States or by any State or political subdivision within
a State unless such denial or abridgment is in furtherance of
a compelling governmental interest and is the least
restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental
interest.
“Section 3. The portion of section 2 of the fourteenth
article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States
that consists of the phrase `or other crime,' is repealed.
“Section 4. The Congress shall have the power to enforce
this article and protect against any denial or abridgement of
the fundamental right to vote by legislation.”.