PREFILED    DEC 14 2018

REFERENCE TITLE: Article V convention; electors; citizenship

 

 

 

 

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-fourth Legislature

First Regular Session

2019

 

 

 

HCR 2001

 

Introduced by

Representative Finchem

 

 

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 

applying to the congress of the united states to call a convention for proposing an amendment to the constitution of the united states to require persons to provide verifiable evidence of legal citizenship in order to be qualified as electors for federal office elections.

 

 

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE).

 


Whereas, the founders of the Constitution of the United States empowered state legislators to be guardians of liberty against future abuses of power by the federal government; and

Whereas, the people placed a duty of agency on the legislators of their respective states to protect and promote their personal franchise of voting; and

Whereas, individuals with no legal standing to vote, have indeed done so in previous elections, regardless of a lack of legal status to be present in the United States, and in so doing, diminish the personal franchise of citizens with legal standing, imposing a hidden form of voter suppression on the people; and

Whereas, the term "citizenship" is not yet clearly defined as legal status to be present in the United States, her territories or in service to the republic; and

Whereas, it is the solemn duty of the states to protect the liberty of our people, particularly for the generations to come, to propose amendments to the Constitution of the United States through a convention of the states under Article V to place clear restraints on these and related abuses of power and to clarify matters affecting the people and their primary form of redress.

Therefore

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of Arizona, the Senate concurring:

1.  That, pursuant to Article V of the Constitution of the United States, the Legislature of the State of Arizona formally applies to the Congress of the United States to call a convention of the states limited to proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to protect the voting franchise of each legal resident of the United States by requiring persons to provide verifiable evidence of legal citizenship in order to be qualified as electors for federal office elections.

2.  That this application constitutes a continuing application in accordance with Article V of the Constitution of the United States until at least two-thirds of the legislatures of the several states have made application on the same subjects.

3.  That this application shall be considered as covering the same subject matter as the applications from other states to Congress to call a convention to protect the voting franchise of each legal resident of the United States by requiring persons to provide verifiable evidence of legal citizenship in order to be qualified as electors for federal office elections, and this application shall be aggregated with same for the purpose of attaining the two-thirds of states necessary to require Congress to call a limited convention on this subject, but shall not be aggregated with any other applications on any other subject.

4.  That the Secretary of State of the State of Arizona transmit a copy of this Resolution to the President and Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker, Clerk and Judiciary Committee Chairman of the United States House of Representatives, each Member of Congress from the State of Arizona and the presiding officers of each house of the several state legislatures, requesting their cooperation.