Full Text of HR0801 94th General Assembly
HR0801enr 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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HR0801 Enrolled |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION 801
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| WHEREAS, Following the Civil War, Congress adopted the | 3 |
| Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery, the Fourteenth | 4 |
| Amendment establishing the citizenship rights of all persons | 5 |
| born in the United States and requiring that no one be denied | 6 |
| due process or equal protection of the laws, and the Fifteenth | 7 |
| Amendment securing the right to vote for all citizens | 8 |
| regardless of a person's race, color, or former condition of | 9 |
| servitude; and
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| WHEREAS, Despite the enactment of these significant | 11 |
| constitutional commands, for nearly 100 years, states and local | 12 |
| jurisdictions passed laws and instituted practices designed to | 13 |
| circumvent the Civil War amendments; many states erected | 14 |
| barriers to access to the polls, including infamous poll taxes | 15 |
| and literacy or good character tests; African-Americans, | 16 |
| Latinos, and other minorities and those who advocated on their | 17 |
| behalf often were subjected to severe violence and | 18 |
| intimidation, or in some cases death, if they attempted to | 19 |
| register to vote or cast a ballot; and
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| WHEREAS, Confronted with aggressive and relentless | 21 |
| defiance of the Constitution, Congress enacted the Voting | 22 |
| Rights Act of 1965 in order to ensure that the rights | 23 |
| guaranteed by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments were | 24 |
| enforced; and
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| WHEREAS, The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is widely viewed as | 26 |
| one of the most successful civil rights statutes ever enacted; | 27 |
| it bans literacy tests and other discriminatory devices, | 28 |
| outlaws discriminatory practices and procedures during the | 29 |
| voting process, authorizes the appointment of federal election | 30 |
| monitors and observers, and creates various means for | 31 |
| protecting and enforcing the rights of American citizens, | 32 |
| including racial and language minorities, to vote; and
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HR0801 Enrolled |
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| WHEREAS, Although the struggle to ensure fairness in the | 2 |
| electoral process continues, as a result of the Voting Rights | 3 |
| Act racial and language minorities have enjoyed enhanced | 4 |
| opportunities to participate in the electoral process, cast | 5 |
| votes, and elect their candidates of choice; and
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| WHEREAS, In 2007, certain "special provisions" of the | 7 |
| Voting Rights Act that were enacted to address discriminatory | 8 |
| voting practices and the present effects of those practices | 9 |
| could expire if not renewed by Congress; and
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| WHEREAS, These provisions include:
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| Section 2: This provision equips voters with the means | 12 |
| to challenge election laws that result in a denial or | 13 |
| abridgement of voting rights on account of race, color, or | 14 |
| language minority status;
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| Section 4: The coverage provision, which determines | 16 |
| which states and jurisdictions must seek Section 5 | 17 |
| pre-clearance; the coverage formula reaches states and | 18 |
| jurisdictions with some of the most active histories of | 19 |
| discrimination;
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| Section 5: The federal pre-clearance of voting changes | 21 |
| provisions, which requires covered jurisdictions to prove that | 22 |
| voting changes are not discriminatory before they may legally | 23 |
| take effect;
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| Sections 6-9: The Federal Examiner/Observer | 25 |
| provisions, which set forth criteria for election monitoring by | 26 |
| the Department of Justice; and | 27 |
| Section 203: The bilingual voting materials | 28 |
| provisions, which mandate that certain voting materials must be | 29 |
| translated for language minorities in certain jurisdictions; | 30 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, By 2007, Congress will vote on whether to extend | 32 |
| these "special provisions" of the Voting Rights Act; the |
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HR0801 Enrolled |
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| effects of the long history of voting discrimination persist; | 2 |
| the "special provisions" of the Voting Rights Act continue to | 3 |
| be extremely important tools for protecting minority voting; | 4 |
| during the reauthorization process, Congress will compile a | 5 |
| record that sets forth the continuing effects of the nation's | 6 |
| widespread voting discrimination; and
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| WHEREAS, Voting is the cornerstone of American democracy | 8 |
| and, during the reauthorization process, Congress and | 9 |
| individuals and organizations concerned with maintaining the | 10 |
| protections that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 provides will | 11 |
| have an opportunity to present the evidence necessary to | 12 |
| support renewal of the "special provisions" of the Voting | 13 |
| Rights Act of 1965; in the meantime, all eligible voters should | 14 |
| register, confirm their registration status, and exercise the | 15 |
| right to vote so that the long struggle to expand the franchise | 16 |
| yields meaningful results; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 18 |
| NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 19 |
| we urge Congress to reauthorize the "special provisions" of the | 20 |
| Voting Rights Act of 1965; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the State of | 22 |
| Illinois will collaborate with all organizations dedicated to | 23 |
| ensuring the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
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