New legislation from Democratic lawmakers would provide all Americans with an affirmative right to vote and a legal process to secure that right for the first time a move that could counter Republican efforts around the country to restrict voting access.

Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.) and Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) introduced the Right to Vote Act on Wednesday.

This is legislation that would ensure that courts respect the right to vote as the fundamental right that it is, Jones said. It is the first congressional guarantee of the right to vote in federal elections. It also solves the problem that we are seeing in certain states of election subversion.

The bill would affirm Americans right to vote by declaring election laws or rules that pose a severe or discriminatory burden to be illegitimate unless the jurisdiction in question can prove that its proposed law or rule furthers a governmental interest and is the least restrictive means of doing so.

This means states and local jurisdictions would need to provide documented evidence if they want to claim that their restriction of voter access is necessary to provide election integrity or to counter election or voter fraud.

The Right to Vote Act will for the first time enshrine the right to vote in Federal statute and allow U.S. citizens to challenge in court any policy that makes it harder for them to participate in elections, Ossoff said in a statement after announcing the legislation in an appearance on CNN .

Similarly, the new election subversion laws enacted by Republicans in states like Georgia, which enable partisan actors to alter vote counts and results after the fact, would need to be shown to meet a provable governmental interest and offer the least restrictive means of achieving that interest.

Jurisdictions up until this point have gotten away with murder in terms of positing voter fraud that they are never asked to substantiate, Jones said. His bill, if enacted, would require jurisdictions to provide such proof.

This Right to Vote Act is meant to fill the gap in voters ability to challenge voting restrictions, previously limited by judicial interpretations of the 14th Amendments equal protection clause. It is also designed to supplement the For the People Act, a sweeping reform bill that would override many voter suppression laws by setting a national standard for voter access in federal elections.

The Right to Vote Act was first introduced by Jones in the House as an amendment to the For the People Act in March. The amendment was not agreed to in the House, so Jones sought Senate sponsors to introduce it as standalone legislation.