The Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2015 has its first Republican co-sponsor.

“Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska became the first Republican to support the bill, and I am hopeful that other Republicans — in both the House and Senate — will join our efforts to restore federal voting protections,” said Selma native and U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell.

Sewell is a lead sponsor of the bill that would restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

“The Voting Rights Advancement Act reaffirms our commitment to voter equality and creating more pathways to voter access,” Sewell said.

Until Thursday, no Republican in Washington had pledged support for the bill.

The Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2015 would require states with well-documented cases of recent voting discrimination to clear voting changes with the federal government.

Other lead sponsors with Sewell include fellow Judy Chu (CA-27), chairwoman of the Congressional Asian Pacific Caucus, and Linda Sanchez (CA-38), chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Georgia Congressman John Lewis, who led the Bloody Sunday march as a 25-year-old student along with the late Rev. Hosea Williams, also signed on as an co-sponsor.

A companion bill was introduced in the Senate by Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Dick Durban of Illinois and Chris Coons of Delaware.

In June 2013, the Supreme Court Struck down the provision of the Voting Rights Act that required states with past discrimination to get Justice Department approval before making any voting changes.

In Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder, the court ruled 5-to-4 that the formula used to decide which states must get federal approval was unconstitutional because it was based off 40-year-old information.

The new bill provides a modern formula to determine which states must have the Justice Department sign off on any election changes.

The bill requires states with 15 voting violations over 25 years, or 10 if one was statewide, to get federal approval for changes to issues like voter-ID laws, proof-of-citizenship requirements, district boundaries and polling locations. The federal oversight would last for 10 years.

The new formula would currently affect 13 states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

The Voting Rights Act was reauthorized in 2006 with a 390-33 vote in the House and by a 98-0 margin in the Senate.

Rep. James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin was the lead GOP sponsor of the 2006 reauthorization and the 2014 Voting Rights Amendment Act, which was narrower in scope. Sewell has called last year’s bill a watered-down compromise.

“Restoring the (Voting Rights Act) is critically important,” Sensenbrenner said earlier this year. “Every American needs to know that we understand their right to vote is sacred. However, I stand by the legislation I introduced last Congress. Passing any bill on voting rights will be a Herculean task, and there is no chance of succeeding if we abandon our bipartisan approach.”