IV 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 854 
Calling on Congress to condemn voter suppression laws enacted by States 
and political subdivisions. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 14, 2021 
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 af-
firms that voting rights cannot be denied to citizens on 
the basis of race; 
Whereas post-Reconstruction Jim Crow laws severely re-
stricted minority voting rights, particularly those of Afri-
can Americans; 
Whereas the Voting Rights Act of 1965 contributed to a sig-
nificant increase in voter registration and participation 
by African Americans and other minorities; 
Whereas the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in Shelby Coun-
ty v. Holder struck down section 4(b) of the Voting 
Rights Act of 1965, the coverage provision of the law 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:03 Dec 15, 2021
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR854.IH
HR854
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
•HRES 854 IH 
that identified States and political subdivisions with a 
chronic history of passing restrictive voting laws; 
Whereas the Shelby County decision effectively immobilized 
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 al-
lowed for voter suppression laws to proliferate by permit-
ting 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, at least 6 States 
have reduced early voting access; 
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 citi-
zenship and cannot afford a Certificate of Citizenship or 
a Replacement Certificate of Naturalization, which cost 
$1,170 and $555, respectively; 
Whereas since the Shelby County decision, at least 3 States 
have imposed more stringent requirements on nongovern-
mental organizations that help register and engage citi-
zens in voter participation; 
Whereas restricting nongovernmental voter participation or-
ganizations directly affects people of color, low-income 
citizens, and the elderly, as these organizations are par-
ticularly likely to reach and engage these populations; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:03 Dec 15, 2021
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR854.IH
HR854
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
•HRES 854 IH 
Whereas since the Shelby County decision, at least 16 States 
have passed laws making it more difficult to vote by ab-
sentee ballot; 
Whereas at least 19 States have passed at least 33 laws in 
2021 to make it harder for Americans to vote; 
Whereas many of these laws target voting mechanisms dis-
proportionately used by non-White voters in the 2020 
election, 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 reducing absentee voting disproportionately affects 
low-income, minority voters, who are more likely than 
other citizens to have inflexible work- and childcare-re-
lated 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, po-
litical subdivisions have also passed new laws that sup-
press minority voters, including reducing the number of 
polling places and offering insufficient language assist-
ance 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 insufficient language assistance at polling places 
could possibly threaten eligible Latino voter turnout in 
the 2022 midterm elections; 
Whereas since the Shelby County decision, courts have struck 
down restrictive voting laws in at least 4 States, dem-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:03 Dec 15, 2021
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR854.IH
HR854
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
•HRES 854 IH 
onstrating the discriminatory nature of voting restrictions 
that have proliferated post-Shelby County; 
Whereas if a preclearance formula had been in effect, the De-
partment 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 be-
tween 2016 and 2018 if formerly covered jurisdictions 
had continued to remove voters at the same rate as non-
covered jurisdictions; 
Whereas the House of Representatives has passed the John 
R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021 (H.R. 
4) and the For the People Act of 2021 (H.R. 1) to pro-
tect the right to vote; and 
Whereas many unjust voter laws that were passed or went 
into effect after the Shelby County decision threaten to 
affect a significant number of minority voters in upcom-
ing elections: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives con-
demns the use by States and political subdivisions of the 
voter suppression laws and techniques described in the 
preamble of this resolution. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:03 Dec 15, 2021
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\HR854.IH
HR854
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS