SR0115 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0115 LRB094 11692 AMC 43482 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Voting is the language of democracy and has proven to be one of the most effective tools in the ongoing battle against racism in our nation; and

WHEREAS, In 1965, the Voting Rights Act was passed by Congress to protect every American against racial discrimination in voting; and

WHEREAS, The Voting Rights Act was created to ensure that every person's vote is equal and that race should never shut any person out of the political process; and

WHEREAS, The Voting Rights Act of 1965 made specific provisions to mitigate against extraordinary racial discrimination in voting rights; and

WHEREAS, These provisions applied to certain areas of the nation for a limited period of time; these certain areas included several jurisdictions where voting irregularities took place during recent elections; and

WHEREAS, Racial discrimination in voting thus continues to be a problem today; and

WHEREAS, These provisions of the Voting Rights Act that provide safeguards against racial discrimination in voting will expire in 2007, unless Congress reauthorizes these provisions; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge Congress to reauthorize all provisions in the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that are scheduled to expire in 2007 and to amend those provisions to make those provisions permanent; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and each member of the Illinois congressional delegation.