HF 3160

as introduced - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

1.1      A resolution
1.2      urging the United States Congress to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
1.3      WHEREAS, the Minnesota Legislature supports the inherent worth, rights, and 
1.4      responsibilities of all persons; and  
1.5      WHEREAS, the Minnesota Legislature supports the right to full participation of the person 
1.6      in political and civic life, including the right to vote; and
1.7      WHEREAS, prior to the Civil War, African Americans were almost totally disenfranchised 
1.8      throughout the states. The Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution, adopted in 1870, gave all 
1.9      men, regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude the right to vote. The Nineteenth 
1.10     Amendment, ratified in 1920, provided women the right to vote; and
1.11     WHEREAS, even after the enactment of the Fifteenth Amendment, many southern states 
1.12     continued to use various methods to prevent people of color from voting, including literacy tests, 
1.13     poll taxes, the disenfranchisement of former inmates, intimidation, threats, and even violence. 
1.14     Until 1965, federal laws did not challenge the authority of states and localities to establish and 
1.15     administer their own voting requirements; and
1.16     WHEREAS, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was enacted 40 years ago; and
1.17     WHEREAS, the United States Congress hails the Voting Rights Act as the nation's most 
1.18     effective civil rights legislation; and
1.19     WHEREAS, the Voting Rights Act was amended in 1970, 1975, and 1982. The Voting 
1.20     Rights Act was adopted at a time when African Americans were substantially disenfranchised in 
2.1      many southern states. It has now also removed barriers to voting for Asians, Latino Americans, 
2.2      and Native Americans, and for persons with disabilities; and
2.3      WHEREAS, the Voting Rights Act employed measures to restore the right to vote that 
2.4      intruded in matters previously reserved to the individual states. Section 4 ended the use of literacy 
2.5      requirements for voting in six southern states (Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South 
2.6      Carolina, and Virginia) and in many counties of North Carolina, where voter registration or 
2.7      turnout in the 1964 presidential election was less than 50 percent of the voting-age population; and
2.8      WHEREAS, although the voting protections of the Fifteenth Amendment and Section 2 
2.9      of the Voting Rights Act are permanent, the special provisions of Section 5 remain in effect 
2.10     only through 2007. Section 5 makes it mandatory for election practices that change boundaries 
2.11     or impose new procedures in certain states to be subjected to administrative review by the 
2.12     United States attorney general, or ruled on by the United States District Court for the District of 
2.13     Columbia before implementation; and 
2.14     WHEREAS, the Voting Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on race or language 
2.15     minority status. The Voting Rights Act enables millions of minorities to register and vote despite 
2.16     some states' efforts to limit the exercise of their right. These key "special provisions" of the 
2.17     Voting Rights Act have a remedial purpose and are set to expire on August 6, 2007; and
2.18     WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Minnesota believes it would be a mockery of 
2.19     justice to allow these special provisions to expire; and 
2.20     WHEREAS, many Americans are not aware of the history of the Voting Rights Act and 
2.21     therefore may assume there is no longer a need to have the protection afforded by the special 
2.22     provisions of the Act. Despite the progress that has been made since the enactment of the 
2.23     Voting Rights Act, voter inequities, disparities, and obstacles still remain for many voters and 
2.24     serve to demonstrate the ongoing need for the Voting Rights Act and its special provisions. 
2.25     Gerrymandering, improper redistricting, disenfranchising former inmates, inaccessible voting 
2.26     booths, and flawed voting procedures are issues that must continue to be addressed to ensure the 
2.27     protection of the right to vote for all Americans; NOW, THEREFORE, 
2.28     BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota  that it urges the United 
2.29     States Congress to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act of 1965 at the earliest possible time.
2.30     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the  State of Minnesota is 
2.31     directed to prepare copies of this  memorial and transmit them to the President of  the United States, 
2.32     the President and the Secretary of the  United States Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk of the 
3.1      United  States House of Representatives, the chair of the Senate  Committee on Judiciary, the chair 
3.2      of the House Committee  on Judiciary, and Minnesota's Senators and  Representatives in Congress.