IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 968 

Calling on Congress to condemn voter suppression laws enacted by States 

and political subdivisions. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 16, 2024 

Ms. NORTON submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

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 

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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; 

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•HRES 968 IH 

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 beVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Jan 17, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR968.IH HR968
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•HRES 968 IH 

tween 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 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives con2 demns the use by States and political subdivisions of voter 

3 suppression laws and techniques. 

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