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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Since the U.S. Supreme Court eviscerated the Voting |
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Rights Act of 1965 with its decision in Shelby County v. Holder, |
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many citizens have confronted new barriers to participation in our |
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democracy; and |
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WHEREAS, During the Civil Rights Era, the United States |
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Congress passed the Voting Rights Act to prevent government at all |
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levels from enacting laws or policies that deny American citizens |
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the right to vote based on race or ethnicity; one of the key |
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provisions, Section 5, requires jurisdictions with a history of |
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discrimination to obtain prior federal approval of changes to |
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voting rules that could affect minorities; for nearly five decades, |
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this provision, known as preclearance, served as a bulwark against |
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disenfranchisement, blocking discrimination before it occurred; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, On June 25, 2013, in its Shelby County decision, a |
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sharply divided Supreme Court rendered Section 5 inoperable by |
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invalidating as antiquated Section 4(b), the formula used to |
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determine the states and localities covered by preclearance; absent |
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congressional resolve to update the formula, lawmakers in many |
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states and districts seized the opportunity to revive voting |
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changes that had been blocked, to move forward with changes |
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previously deterred, and to implement new discriminatory |
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restrictions; such measures included draconian voter ID laws, the |
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elimination of early voting opportunities, and the closing or |
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moving of hundreds and likely thousands of polling sites; all of |
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these actions, which disproportionately affected minorities, |
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low-income communities, people with disabilities, and students, |
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would previously have required federal approval under Section 5; |
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moreover, on July 1, 2021, the Supreme Court's decision in |
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Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee struck down what was left |
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of the Voting Rights Act by making it even more difficult to |
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challenge discriminatory voting laws under Section 2 of the law; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Court rulings and studies alike have shown that in |
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the wake of Shelby County, discrimination is widespread; the |
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nonpartisan Election Protection coalition undertook a |
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comprehensive review of the 2016 presidential election and found a |
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range of barriers to voting, including improper enforcement of |
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voter ID laws, dissemination of incorrect or deceptive information, |
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failure to provide information, and voter intimidation; the |
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organization concluded that without an enforceable Section 5, |
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approximately 24 percent of the nonwhite voting-age population is |
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more vulnerable to discriminatory election practices; and |
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WHEREAS, For more than a half century, the Voting Rights Act |
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has been a vital means of quelling discrimination in the form of |
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inequitable redistricting plans, onerous voter ID laws, artificial |
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barriers to voting, elimination of early voting opportunities, and |
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unfair polling place changes; without a functioning Section 5, |
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however, expensive litigation is required to fight unjust voting |
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laws, and while legal proceedings drag on, countless voters are |
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denied the right to cast ballots; the Supreme Court left it to |
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Congress to modernize the formula to determine which states and |
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jurisdictions are to be covered by Section 5, and new legislation is |
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urgently needed to restore and strengthen the Voting Rights Act; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, The United States was founded on the principle that |
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we are all created equal, and as the world's leading democracy, we |
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must set the standard for free, fair, and accessible elections in |
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which every vote is counted; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas, |
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3rd Called Session, hereby urge the United States Congress to |
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restore and strengthen the Voting Rights Act of 1965; and, be it |
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further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
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Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
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members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
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this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |