| |
| |
|
|
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
|
|
|
WHEREAS, The 2020 election took place amidst the |
|
|
unprecedented challenges of a global pandemic, but local and state |
|
|
administrators rose to the occasion, embracing measures that |
|
|
allowed a record number of Americans to make their voices heard in a |
|
|
safe, secure, and professional process; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The For the People Act currently under consideration |
|
|
in the United States Congress reflects lessons learned across the |
|
|
country during recent election cycles, embracing measures to |
|
|
improve the safety and security of our voting processes and to |
|
|
strengthen our democracy by engaging more citizens; recognizing the |
|
|
exigencies of modern life in a 24/7 economy, the legislation |
|
|
includes many elements to make voting simpler and more convenient, |
|
|
among them at least two weeks of early in-person voting, online and |
|
|
same-day voter registration, and automatic voter registration at |
|
|
motor vehicle departments and other specified government agencies; |
|
|
it expands and standardizes voting by mail, provides funding for |
|
|
mail-in ballot tracking, and offers standards for ballot drop |
|
|
boxes; setting such national policies will ensure that every |
|
|
eligible voter has equal access to the ballot box, no matter where |
|
|
they reside; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Described by the League of Women Voters as "the most |
|
|
expansive democracy reform legislation we have seen since the |
|
|
Voting Rights Act," the For the People Act also bolsters election |
|
|
security, ensuring that elections are decided by American voters |
|
|
without interference from foreign adversaries; it creates a |
|
|
national strategy to protect our democratic institutions, |
|
|
increases oversight of election vendors, and improves federal |
|
|
support for state voting system security upgrades, including paper |
|
|
ballot voting systems; by requiring states to adopt independent |
|
|
redistricting commissions, it ensures that voters choose their |
|
|
representatives, not the other way around; moreover, it addresses |
|
|
the dominance of big money and special interests in politics by |
|
|
increasing transparency, bolstering oversight by the Federal |
|
|
Election Commission, and fortifying ethics laws and enforcement for |
|
|
violations; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The provisions in the For the People Act enjoy |
|
|
overwhelming public support; a recent Global Strategy Group/ALG |
|
|
Research survey of likely general election voters in a dozen states |
|
|
found 83 percent agreement for the bill, with provisions to reduce |
|
|
the influence of money in politics receiving nearly universal |
|
|
support; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Americans can take great pride in the resiliency of |
|
|
our electoral system and the determination of the voting public |
|
|
even in the face of historic upheaval, and by passing this |
|
|
legislation, Congress can provide an even sturdier foundation for |
|
|
government of the people, by the people, and for the people; now, |
|
|
therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas, |
|
|
2nd Called Session, hereby respectfully urge the United States |
|
|
Congress to pass the For the People Act; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
|
|
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
|
|
the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
|
|
Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
|
|
members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
|
|
this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
|
|
memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |