Norton Introduces Resolution Calling on Congress to Condemn Voter Suppression Laws Enacted by the States

WASHINGTON, D.C. –– Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced a resolution calling on Congress to condemn voter suppression laws enacted by the states.

“Unfortunately, this resolution was made necessary by voter suppression laws enacted by several states,” Norton said. “Democracy is defined by the very fact that we count all legally-cast votes. My resolution calls on Congress to condemn these laws, which particularly burden African American communities, as did the Jim Crow laws of the past.

“I must also note that, by far, the worse instance of voter suppression in this country is continuing to deny the 700,000 residents of the District of Columbia a vote in Congress and full home rule.”

The text of the resolution follows.

H. RES. 968

Calling on Congress to condemn voter suppression laws enacted by States and political subdivisions.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Ms. Norton submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on _______________

RESOLUTION

Calling on Congress to condemn voter suppression laws enacted by States and political subdivisions.

Whereas the ratification of the 15th Amendment in 1870 affirms that voting rights cannot be denied to citizens on the basis of race;

Whereas post-Reconstruction Jim Crow laws severely restricted voting rights, particularly those of African Americans;

Whereas the Voting Rights Act of 1965 contributed to a significant increase in voter registration and participation by African Americans and other minorities;

Whereas the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder struck down section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the coverage provision of the law that identified States and political subdivisions with a chronic history of passing restrictive voting laws;

Whereas the Shelby County decision effectively nullified section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which allowed the Department of Justice and Federal courts to “preclear” any proposed changes to voting rules, allowing a preemptive strike to unjust and discriminatory voting laws in the regions identified by section 4(b);

Whereas the absence of this preclearance requirement has allowed for voter suppression laws to proliferate by permitting States and political subdivisions to pass restrictive voting laws without Federal preclearance to determine if the laws are racially discriminatory;

Whereas since the Shelby County decision, 29 laws have been passed in 11 States that had been subject to preclearance;

Whereas restricting early voting disproportionately affects people of color, low-income citizens, and the elderly, who often rely on flexible, early voting periods;

Whereas many voting-eligible, low-income Latino voters are naturalized United States citizens who lack proof of citizenship and cannot afford a Certificate of Citizenship or a Replacement Certificate of Naturalization, which cost $1,170 and $555, respectively;

Whereas many of these laws target voting mechanisms disproportionately used by non-White voters, including in the 2020 and 2022 elections, such as Georgia enacting new restrictions on mail voting after nearly 30 percent of Georgia’s Black voters cast ballots by mail in 2020;

Whereas since the Shelby County decision, at least 22 States have passed at least 43 laws to restrict mail voting access;

Whereas reducing absentee voting disproportionately affects low-income, minority voters, who are more likely than other citizens to have inflexible work- and childcare-related schedules;

Whereas 70.9 percent of White voters cast ballots in the 2020 election, compared to 58.4 percent of voters of color;

Whereas in addition to State-level voter suppression laws, political subdivisions have also passed new laws that suppress minority voters, including reducing the number of polling places and offering insufficient language assistance for non-English-speaking voters;

Whereas following the Shelby County decision, there were at least 868 fewer polling places in the 2016 election than in past elections;

Whereas since the Shelby County decision, courts have struck down restrictive voting laws, demonstrating the discriminatory nature of voting restrictions that have proliferated post-Shelby County;

Whereas if a preclearance formula had been in effect, the Department of Justice and Federal courts would have been able to prevent discriminatory voter suppression laws from being passed;

Whereas 2,000,000 fewer individuals would have been purged from their States’ voter rolls between 2012 and 2016 if formerly covered jurisdictions had continued to remove voters at the same rate as noncovered jurisdictions, and 1,100,000 fewer individuals would have been removed between 2016 and 2018 if formerly covered jurisdictions had continued to remove voters at the same rate as noncovered jurisdictions;

Whereas, on July 13, 2023, the Committee on House Administration favorably reported the American Confidence in Elections Act (H.R. 4563), which contains provisions that would apply only to the District of Columbia and make it harder for District of Columbia residents to vote and for the District of Columbia to administer elections; and

Whereas many voter laws that were passed or went into effect after the Shelby County decision threaten to affect a significant number of minority voters in upcoming elections: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives condemns the use by States and political subdivisions of voter suppression laws and techniques.

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