,,iii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 ,,res4 #fie ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,september #ae1 #bjbj,mr4 ,wyden 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,merkley1 ,mr4 ,kaine1 ,mr4 ,jones1 ,mr4 ,bennet1 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 ,mr4 ,carper1 ,mr4 ,markey1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 ,ms4 ,cantwell1 ,mr4 ,brown1 ,mr4 ,cardin1 ,mr4 ,menendez1 ,ms4 ,hirono1 ,mrs4 ,feinstein1 ,ms4 ,cortez ,masto1 ,mr4 ,booker1 ,mr4 ,udall1 ,mr4 ,reed1 ,mr4 ,king1 and ,ms4 ,duckworth7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,,resolution ,designating ,september #bjbj as ,national ,voting ,rights ,month4 ,whereas voting is one of the single most important rights that can be exercised in a democracy2 ,whereas1 over the course of history1 various voter suppression laws in the ,united ,states have hindered1 and even prohibited1 certain individuals and groups from exercising the right to vote2 ,whereas1 during the #aith and early #bjth centuries1 ,native ,americans and people who were born to ,united ,states citizens abroad1 people who spoke a language other than ,english1 and people who were formerly subjected to slavery were denied full citizenship and prevented from voting by ,english literacy tests2 ,whereas1 since the #ahgjs1 minority groups such as ,african ,americans in the ,south have suffered from the oppressive effects of ,jim ,crow laws that were designed to prevent political1 economic1 and social mobility2 ,whereas ,african ,americans1 ,latinos1 ,asian ,americans1 ,native ,americans1 and other underrepresented voters were subject to violence1 poll taxes1 literacy tests1 all-,white primaries1 property ownership tests1 and grandfather clauses that were designed to suppress the right of those individuals to vote2 ,whereas members of the aforementioned groups and others are currently1 in some cases1 subject to intimidation1 voter roll purges1 bans on former prisoners from voting1 and financial barriers that act effectively as modern-day poll taxes2 ,whereas1 in #aife1 ,congress passed the ,voting ,rights ,act of #aife 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #ajcja et seq47 to protect the right of ,african ,americans and other traditionally disenfranchised groups to vote1 among other reasons2 ,whereas1 in #bjac1 in the landmark case of ,shelby ,county v4 ,holder1 #egj ,u4,s4 #ebi 7#bjac71 the ,supreme ,court of the ,united ,states invalidated section #d of the ,voting ,rights ,act of #aife1 dismantling the preclearance formula provision in that ,act that protected voters in ,states and localities that historically have suppressed the right of minorities to vote2 ,whereas1 since the invalidation of the preclearance formula provision of the ,voting ,rights ,act of #aife1 gerrymandered districts in many ,states have gone unchallenged and have become less likely to be invalidated by the courts2 ,whereas these gerrymandered districts have been found to have discriminatory impacts on traditionally disenfranchised minorities through tactics that include cracking1 diluting the voting power of minorities across many districts1 and packing or concentrating minority voters' power in one district to reduce their voting power in other districts2 ,whereas the courts have found the congressional and1 in some cases1 ,state legislative district maps1 in ,texas1 ,north ,carolina1 ,florida1 ,pennsylvania1 ,ohio1 and ,wisconsin to be gerrymandered districts that were created to favor some groups over others2 ,whereas the decision of the ,supreme ,court in ,shelby ,county v4 ,holder1 #egj ,u4,s4 #ebi 7#bjac71 calls on ,congress to update the formula in the ,voting ,rights ,act of #aife2 ,whereas some form of a restrictive voting law has been instituted in at least #bc ,states since #bjac2 ,whereas these restrictive voting laws encompass cutbacks in early voting1 voter roll purges1 placement of faulty equipment in minority communities1 requirement of photo identification1 and the elimination of same-day registration2 ,whereas these policies could outright disenfranchise or make voting much more difficult for more than #hj1jjj1jjj minority1 elderly1 poor1 and disabled voters1 among other groups2 ,whereas1 in #bjaf1 discriminatory laws in ,north ,carolina1 ,wisconsin1 ,north ,dakota1 and ,texas were ruled to violate voters' rights and overturned by the courts2 ,whereas the ,coronavirus ,disease #bjai 7referred to in this preamble as ,,covid-#ai7 public health emergency has only exacerbated the state of elections and the difficulties voters face in obtaining access to the ballot2 ,whereas a lack of fair and safe election policies threatens minority communities1 which have been disproportionately impacted and disenfranchised due to the ,,covid-#ai pandemic1 and their access to the ballot2 ,whereas addressing the challenges of administering upcoming elections in #bjbj and beyond requires increasing the accessibility of vote-by-mail and other limited-contact options to ensure the protection of voters' health and safety amid a global pandemic2 ,whereas1 as voting by mail becomes a safer and more accessible option for voters to exercise their constitutional right to vote during the unprecedented times caused by the ,,covid-#ai pandemic1 the work of the ,united ,states ,postal ,service will be of paramount importance in successfully conducting elections2 ,whereas ,congress must work to combat any attempts to dismantle or underfund the ,united ,states ,postal ,service or obstruct the passage of the mail as blatant tactics of voter suppression and election interference2 ,whereas there is much more work to be done to ensure all citizens of the ,united ,states have the right to vote through free1 fair1 and accessible elections2 ,whereas ,national ,voter ,registration ,day is ,september #bb2 and ,whereas ,september #bjbj would be an appropriate month to designate as ,national ,voting ,rights ,month and to ensure that1 through the registration of voters and awareness of elections1 the democracy of the ,united ,states includes all citizens of the ,united ,states3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that the ,senate-- 7#a7 designates ,september #bjbj as ,national ,voting ,rights ,month2 7#b7 encourages all people in the ,united ,states to uphold the right of every citizen to exercise the sacred and fundamental right to vote2 7#c7 commemorates-- 7,a7 the #ajjth anniversary of ,senate passage of the #aith ,amendment to the ,constitution of the ,united ,states1 which guarantees women the right to vote2 and 7,b7 the legacy of generations of suffragists who fought to protect women's rights at the ballot2 7#d7 encourages ,congress to pass-- 7,a7 the ,for the ,people ,act of #bjai 7,s4 #idi and ,h4,r4 #a of the #aafth ,congress71 to increase voters' access to the ballot1 prohibit the use of deceptive practices to intimidate voters1 end gerrymandering1 create automatic voter registration1 limit the power of restrictive voter identification laws1 make critical investments in election infrastructure and technology1 and address corruption in campaign finance and ethics2 7,b7 the ,john ,r4 ,lewis ,voting ,rights ,advancement ,act of #bjbj 7,h4,r4 #d of the #aafth ,congress7 7introduced in the ,senate as the ,voting ,rights ,advancement ,act of #bjai 7,s4 #efa of the #aafth ,congress771 to restore the protections of the ,voting ,rights ,act of #aife 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #ajcja et seq47 that prohibit discriminatory voting practices1 remove barriers to voting1 and provide protections for minority voters in ,states with a history of voting discrimination2 7,c7 the ,natural ,disaster and ,emergency ,ballot ,act of #bjbj 7,s4 #djcc of the #aafth ,congress71 to ensure that every eligible voter in the ,united ,states is able to exercise the right to vote safely and securely during a declared state of emergency by1 among other things-- 7i7 guaranteeing no-excuse absentee voting2 7ii7 expanding early voting2 7iii7 providing self-sealing return envelopes with prepaid postage for-- 7,i7 voter registration applications2 7,,ii7 absentee-ballot applications2 and 7,,iii7 absentee ballots2 and 7iv7 providing accommodations for voters on ,indian lands2 7,d7 the ,delivering for ,america ,act 7,s4 #debg and ,h4,r4 #hjae in the #aafth ,congress71 to prohibit the ,united ,states ,postal ,service from making changes to operations or levels of service that would reduce those operations or levels of service relative to those that were in effect on ,january #a1 #bjbj1 establish requirements for the processing of election mail1 and provide additional funding for the ,postal ,service ,fund2 7,e7 the ,securing ,america's ,federal ,elections ,act1 or the ,,safe ,act 7,s4 #bbch of the #aafth ,congress71 to provide funding for ,states to improve the administration of elections1 including by enhancing technology and election security1 replacing antiquated voting systems1 and meeting new standards for administering elections2 and 7,f7 other voting rights legislation that seeks to advance voting rights and protect elections in the ,united ,states2 7#e7 recommends that public schools and universities in the ,united ,states develop an academic curriculum that educates students about-- 7,a7 the importance of voting1 how to register to vote1 where to vote1 and the different forms of voting2 7,b7 the history of voter suppression in the ,united ,states before and after passage of the ,voting ,rights ,act of #aife2 and 7,c7 current measures that have been taken to restrict the vote2 7#f7 encourages the ,united ,states ,postal ,service to issue a special ,john ,r4 ,lewis stamp during the month of ,september-- 7,a7 to honor the life and legacy of ,john ,r4 ,lewis in supporting voting rights2 and 7,b7 to remind people in the ,united ,states that ordinary citizens risked their lives1 marched1 and participated in the great democracy of the ,united ,states so that all citizens would have the fundamental right to vote2 and 7#g7 invites ,congress to allocate the requisite funds for public service announcements on television1 radio1 newspapers1 magazines1 social media1 billboards1 buses1 and other forms of media-- 7,a7 to remind people in the ,united ,states when elections are being held2 7,b7 to share important registration deadlines2 and 7,c7 to urge people to get out and vote4