86R3242 KSM-D
 
  By: E. Johnson of Dallas H.C.R. No. 12
 
 
 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
         WHEREAS, Low voter turnout on election day is a widespread
  problem across the United States, as Americans attempt to juggle
  their work and family responsibilities with a visit to their local
  poll; and
         WHEREAS, Since 1960, national voter turnout in presidential
  elections has ranged between 51 and 63 percent of eligible voters;
  turnout for midterm elections, while up in 2018, has typically not
  amounted to even half of eligible voters, averaging around 40
  percent between 1974 and 2014; and
         WHEREAS, Compared with that of other countries, our numbers
  are abysmally low, as turnout is well over 80 percent in established
  democracies around the globe, from Australia to Belgium; and
         WHEREAS, The causes for this low turnout are complicated, but
  in surveys of American adults by the U.S. Census Bureau, family and
  work obligations are frequently cited as a reason for not voting;
  and
         WHEREAS, Businesses across the country are responding to this
  challenge through the "Take Back Tuesday" initiative and are
  closing on election day; on this issue, private enterprise, the
  engine of America, is leading by example and government should
  follow suit; and
         WHEREAS, Voting is the cornerstone of a democracy, and
  government must act to ensure that all Americans have the
  opportunity to accept the responsibilities of citizenship and to
  actively and regularly participate in the electoral process; now,
  therefore, be it
         RESOLVED, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas
  hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to
  designate the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November in
  2020 and each even-numbered year thereafter as a legal public
  holiday described in 5 U.S.C. Section 6103; 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.