IV 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 501 
Expressing support for designation of the month of September as ‘‘National 
Voting Rights Month’’. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 5, 2017 
Mr. VEASEY submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on House 
Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak-
er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju-
risdiction of the committee concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing support for designation of the month of 
September as ‘‘National Voting Rights Month’’. 
Whereas, from 1954–1968, African-Americans in the South 
suffered from the oppressive effects of Jim Crow laws de-
signed to prevent political, economic, and social mobility; 
Whereas African-Americans were subject to violence, poll 
taxes, literacy tests, all White primaries, property owner-
ship tests, grandfather clauses, voter roll purges, and the 
prevention of former prisoners from voting; 
Whereas in 1965, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 
1965 to protect the rights of African-Americans and 
other traditionally disenfranchised groups to vote; 
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•HRES 501 IH 
Whereas in 2013, the Supreme Court invalidated section four 
of the Voting Rights Act, dismantling the pre-clearance 
provision in the law that protected voters in States that 
historically have suppressed the rights of minorities to 
vote; 
Whereas, since the preclearance provisions of the Voting 
Rights Act of 1965 have been vacated, many States have 
gerrymandered districts, disproportionately affecting mi-
nority voting power; 
Whereas these gerrymandered districts have been found to 
have 
a 
discriminatory 
impact 
on 
traditionally 
disenfranchised minorities through tactics that include 
‘‘cracking’’, diluting their voting power across many dis-
tricts, and ‘‘packing’’, concentrating minority voters’ 
power in one district to reduce their voting power in 
other districts; 
Whereas the courts have found the congressional and, in 
some cases, State legislative district maps in Texas, 
North Carolina, Florida, and Wisconsin to be gerry-
mandered districts that were created with the intent of 
interfering with the constitutional right to vote; 
Whereas the Shelby v. Holder Supreme Court decision calls 
on Congress to fix the Voting Rights Act formula of 
1965; 
Whereas in 33 States some form of restrictive voting law has 
been instituted since 2013; 
Whereas these restrictive voting laws encompass cutbacks in 
early voting, voter roll purges, placement of faulty equip-
ment in minority communities, requirement of photo 
identification—the procurement of which amounts to a 
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•HRES 501 IH 
modern day poll tax, and elimination of same day reg-
istration; 
Whereas more than 80 million minority, elderly, poor, and 
disabled voters could be disenfranchised by these changes 
in voting; 
Whereas in 2016 discriminatory laws in North Carolina, Wis-
consin, North Dakota, and Texas have been ruled uncon-
stitutional and overturned by the courts; 
Whereas there are local elected officials who refuse to adhere 
to Federal court decisions that have struck down sup-
pressive voting laws instituted since the Supreme Court’s 
Shelby vs. Holder case; 
Whereas there is much more work to be done to ensure all 
Americans have the right to vote; 
Whereas National Voter Registration Day is September 26; 
and 
Whereas the month of September would be an appropriate 
month to designate as ‘‘National Voting Rights Month’’: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) supports the designation of ‘‘National Vot-
ing Rights Month’’; 
(2) encourages all people in the United States 
to uphold the right of every American to exercise 
their sacred and fundamental right to vote; and 
(3) endorses the following solutions to further 
the mission of allowing all citizens to vote: 
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