Update: Virginia’s General Assembly voted to approve several of Governor Ralph Northam’s tweaks to the state’s Voting Rights Act on Wednesday. The bill will become law effective immediately.

Northam signed the original version of the bill last month. Changes to the bill were minor and did not affect its substance.

Original:

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has signed a statewide voting rights act designed to protect voters against suppression, discrimination, and other forms of intimidation, his office announced Wednesday.

The bill, sponsored by State Senator Jennifer McClellan (D), a candidate in the 2021 governor’s race, and Delegate Marcia Price (D), prohibits any state or local policies from denying or restricting voting rights based on race, color, or native language.

Virginia is the first state in the southern U.S. to enact its own version of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which was hollowed out by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month. The bill passed out of both chambers along party lines — the majority of Republicans rejected the measure — at a time when Republican state legislatures across the country are trying to increase barriers to voting, including in Georgia, where a recent bill introduced more rigid ID requirements for absentee ballots and limited drop boxes.

“At a time when voting rights are under attack across our country, Virginia is expanding access to the ballot box, not restricting it,” Northam said in a statement. “I urge Congress to follow Virginia’s example.”

Virginia’s voting rights act requires local election officials to get feedback or pre-approval from the state’s attorney general before making changes to their voting system. It also allows residents to sue in cases of voter suppression.

“The Voting Rights Act of Virginia is a huge victory for our democracy,” said McClellan in the statement.

The act also requires local election officials to provide all voting materials in other languages as needed.

“With this bill, our Commonwealth is … making a bold statement against voter suppression. We are upholding the dignity, voice, and vote of all Virginians,” Price said.

Earlier this month, Northam announced he was restoring voting rights to Virginians convicted of felonies upon release. The policy applies to nearly 70,000 people across the commonwealth who have already completed prison sentences.

“Too many of our laws were written during a time of open racism and discrimination, and they still bear the traces of inequity,” Northam said in a statement at the time.

Colleen Grablick and Christian Zapata contributed reporting

A correction was made to reflect that Virginia was the first state in the southern U.S. to enact the voting rights act into law.