IV

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. RES. 139

Expressing the sense of Congress regarding commitment to the Voting Rights

Act of 1965.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 9, 2001

Mr. CUMMINGS submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the

Committee on the Judiciary

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of Congress regarding commitment to

the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Whereas the 15th Amendment of the Constitution guarantees

American citizens the right to vote, regardless of race,

color, or previous condition of servitude;

Whereas even after ratification of the 15th Amendment, various election procedures (i.e., poll taxes, literacy tests,

and vouching requirements) by certain states diluted the

impact of votes cast by African Americans or prevented

minorities from voting altogether;

Whereas Congress enacted the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to

address minority disfranchisement and to codify and effectuate the 15th Amendment’s permanent guarantee

that, throughout the nation, no person shall be denied

the right to vote on account of race or color;
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Whereas Congress enacted the Voting Rights Act of 1965 at

the height of the civil rights movement in response to

lawsuits claiming and compelling evidence of continuing

interference with attempts by African American citizens

to exercise their right to vote;

Whereas the Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibits any person

acting under color of law or otherwise from intimidating

or denying any eligible person from voting;

Whereas the Voting Rights Act of 1965 makes it illegal for

any State or local government to use election procedures

that are not equally open to minority voters, or that give

minority voters less opportunity than other voters to participate in the political process and elect representatives

of their choice to public office;

Whereas the Voting Rights Act of 1965 protects minority

language group members by requiring particular jurisdictions to print ballots and other election materials in the

minority language as well as in English, and to have oral

translation assistance available at the polls where necessary;

Whereas the Voting Rights Act of 1965 gives the Department

of Justice the authority to bring suit in Federal court to

challenge those practices that it has determined are racially discriminatory and to bring Federal criminal

charges for voting fraud or intimidation involving racial

bias in local or State elections;

Whereas enforcement of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has

been instrumental in increasing voter registration of African Americans, Latinos, and other ethnicities and providing the opportunity for African American and Latino

voters to elect representatives of their choice by providing
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a vehicle for challenging discriminatory election procedures, further resulting in an increase in African American and Hispanic elected officials;

Whereas on November 7, 2000, American citizens went to the

polls to cast their vote for President of the United States;

and

Whereas American citizens have leveled numerous charges of

election irregularities and minority vote dilution involving

African Americans, ethnic groups such as Latinos and

Haitians, and other ethnicities that occurred in jurisdictions in a number of States, effectively disfranchising

thousands of citizens in the 2000 election: Now, therefore

be it

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Congress that—

2 (1) the Congress—

3 (A) condemns election procedures that re4 sult in minority vote dilution and

5 disfranchisement and any person acting under

6 color of law or otherwise engaged in intimi7 dating or denying any eligible person from vot8 ing;

9 (B) recognizes the significance of the 15th

10 Amendment, which guarantees American citi11 zens the right to vote, regardless of race, color,

12 or previous condition of servitude; and

13 (C) reaffirms its commitment to the Voting

14 Rights Act of 1965, which prohibits any person

15 acting under color of law or otherwise from in-
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1 timidating or denying any eligible person from

2 voting;

3 (2) the United States Commission on Civil

4 Rights should—

5 (A) compile data on reports of voting

6 irregularities arising out of the November 7,

7 2000 Presidential election and investigate such

8 allegations; and

9 (B) provide a comprehensive report of such

10 reported voting irregularities and the Commis11 sion’s findings to Congress and the Department

12 of Justice; and

13 (3) the President, Attorney General, and De14 partment of Justice should—

15 (A) make the elimination of minority vote

16 dilution and disfranchisement a top priority of

17 the United States Government;

18 (B) take all necessary steps and resources

19 to thoroughly investigate all charges of election

20 irregularities and minority vote dilution and

21 disfranchisement;

22 (C) vigorously, promptly, and fully enforce

23 the Voting Rights Act of 1965, by bringing suit

24 in Federal court to challenge those practices

25 that it has determined are racially discrimina-
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1 tory and Federal criminal charges for voting

2 fraud or intimidation involving racial bias

3 occuring in local or State elections; and

4 (D) explore all options to prevent such

5 disfranchisement in future elections such that

6 every American citizen is secured their right to

7 vote, regardless of their race or color.

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