| 1 | 1 | | 87S10437 TBO-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Bucy H.C.R. No. 8 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
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| 6 | 6 | | WHEREAS, The passage of the For the People Act and the John |
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| 7 | 7 | | Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would help to protect |
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| 8 | 8 | | Americans' right to vote; and |
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| 9 | 9 | | WHEREAS, The For the People Act currently under consideration |
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| 10 | 10 | | in the United States Congress reflects lessons learned across the |
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| 11 | 11 | | country during recent election cycles, embracing measures to |
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| 12 | 12 | | improve the safety and security of our voting processes and to |
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| 13 | 13 | | strengthen our democracy by engaging more citizens; recognizing the |
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| 14 | 14 | | exigencies of modern life in a 24/7 economy, the legislation |
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| 15 | 15 | | includes many elements to make voting simpler and more convenient, |
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| 16 | 16 | | among them at least two weeks of early in-person voting, online and |
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| 17 | 17 | | same-day voter registration, and automatic voter registration at |
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| 18 | 18 | | motor vehicle departments and other specified government agencies; |
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| 19 | 19 | | it expands and standardizes voting by mail, provides funding for |
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| 20 | 20 | | mail-in ballot tracking, and offers standards for ballot drop |
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| 21 | 21 | | boxes; setting such national policies will ensure that every |
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| 22 | 22 | | eligible voter has equal access to the ballot box, no matter where |
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| 23 | 23 | | they reside; and |
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| 24 | 24 | | WHEREAS, In 2013, a landmark Supreme Court decision weakened |
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| 25 | 25 | | the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by ending the preclearance process, |
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| 26 | 26 | | which required jurisdictions with a history of voting |
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| 27 | 27 | | discrimination to submit changes to voting policies for federal |
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| 28 | 28 | | approval before implementing them; in response to the decision, |
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| 29 | 29 | | U.S. Representatives Terri Sewell and John Lewis coauthored the |
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| 30 | 30 | | Voting Rights Advancement Act, which was renamed in honor of |
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| 31 | 31 | | Congressman Lewis after his passing; this bill would restore the |
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| 32 | 32 | | protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 while updating the |
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| 33 | 33 | | coverage criteria to reflect current conditions and apply to all |
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| 34 | 34 | | states; furthermore, the bill focuses the preclearance process on a |
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| 35 | 35 | | set of discriminatory measures, requires reasonable public notice |
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| 36 | 36 | | for voting changes, and allows the Attorney General to request the |
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| 37 | 37 | | presence of federal observers in places at risk of racial |
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| 38 | 38 | | discrimination in voting; and |
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| 39 | 39 | | WHEREAS, The United States is the world's leading democracy, |
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| 40 | 40 | | and we must continue to set the standard for free, fair, and |
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| 41 | 41 | | accessible elections in which every vote is counted; now, |
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| 42 | 42 | | therefore, be it |
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| 43 | 43 | | RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas, |
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| 44 | 44 | | 1st Called Session, hereby respectfully urge the United States |
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| 45 | 45 | | Congress to pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting |
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| 46 | 46 | | Rights Advancement Act; and, be it further |
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| 47 | 47 | | RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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| 48 | 48 | | copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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| 49 | 49 | | the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
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| 50 | 50 | | Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
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| 51 | 51 | | members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
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| 52 | 52 | | this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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| 53 | 53 | | memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |
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