Bill Text: TX HCR1 | 2021 | 87th Legislature 3rd Special Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urging Congress to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-09-27 - Referred to Constitutional Rights & Remedies [HCR1 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HCR1-Introduced.html
87S30131 CW-D | ||
By: Reynolds | H.C.R. No. 1 |
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WHEREAS, The history of the United States has been tarnished | ||
by discriminatory policies that suppress minority voting rights and | ||
threaten the foundation of our democracy; and | ||
WHEREAS, On March 7, 1965, civil rights activists the | ||
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis led a peaceful | ||
march against voting inequality and were met with extreme violence; | ||
this event prompted a public outcry and inspired Congress to pass | ||
the Voting Rights Act later that year; the bipartisan legislation | ||
allowed direct federal oversight and protections of election | ||
processes to prevent states from suppressing minority voters; and | ||
WHEREAS, In 2013, a landmark Supreme Court decision weakened | ||
the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by ending the preclearance process, | ||
which required jurisdictions with a history of voting | ||
discrimination to submit changes to voting policies for federal | ||
approval before implementing them; this limited the federal | ||
government's ability to deter voter suppression, and North Carolina | ||
and Texas immediately passed voting changes that were previously | ||
rejected for preclearance; these laws remained during several | ||
elections before federal courts later determined that they were | ||
discriminatory; moreover, restrictive voting measures proliferated | ||
after the 2020 election, and as of June 21, 2021, 17 states enacted | ||
28 new laws that suppress access to the vote; and | ||
WHEREAS, U.S. Representatives Terri Sewell and John Lewis | ||
coauthored the Voting Rights Advancement Act, which was renamed in | ||
honor of Congressman Lewis after his passing; this bill would | ||
restore the protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 while | ||
updating the coverage criteria to reflect current conditions and | ||
apply to all states; furthermore, the bill focuses the preclearance | ||
process on a set of discriminatory measures, requires reasonable | ||
public notice for voting changes, and allows the Attorney General | ||
to request the presence of federal observers in places at risk of | ||
racial discrimination in voting; and | ||
WHEREAS, Congressman John Lewis dedicated his life to | ||
protecting Americans' right to vote, and Congress should pass his | ||
legislation to prevent voter suppression and uphold our nation's | ||
core value of equality; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas, | ||
3rd Called Session, hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the | ||
United States to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement 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. |