IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 710 
Calling on Congress to condemn voter suppression laws enacted by States 
and political subdivisions. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 18, 2019 
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 
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•HRES 710 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 of 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 following the Shelby County decision, at least 14 
States had voting restrictions in place for the first time 
in a Presidential election in time for the 2016 contest; 
Whereas approximately 11 percent of American citizens lack 
government-issued photo identification, and a dispropor-
tionate number are low-income, elderly, or people of 
color; 
Whereas African Americans are as much as 305 percent and 
Latinos are as much as 195 percent more likely than 
Whites to lack acceptable identification required to vote; 
Whereas since the Shelby County decision, at least 4 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 
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a Replacement Certificate of Naturalization, which cost 
$1,170 and $555, respectively; 
Whereas since the Shelby County decision, at least 2 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; 
Whereas since the Shelby County decision, at least 5 States 
have passed laws making it more difficult to vote by ab-
sentee ballot; 
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 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 2020 Presidential election; 
Whereas since the Shelby County decision, courts have struck 
down restrictive voting laws in at least 4 States, dem-
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onstrating the discriminatory nature of voting restrictions 
that have proliferated post-Shelby County; 
Whereas had a preclearance formula 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 the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
Representatives has favorably reported the Voting Rights 
Advancement Act of 2019 (H.R. 4), to update and re-
store the Voting Rights Act of 1965; 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 
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