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SJR-14 Voting Rights Act of 1965.(2013-2014)

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SJR14:v97#DOCUMENT

Senate Joint Resolution No. 14
CHAPTER 133

Relative to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

[ Filed with Secretary of State  September 20, 2013. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SJR 14, Yee. Voting Rights Act of 1965.
This measure would urge the Congress and President of the United States to enact amendments to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that would restore Section 4 of the act with a new coverage formula and update the entire act in order to address ongoing violations of voting rights in the states.
Fiscal Committee: NO  
WHEREAS, The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution ensures that the right of citizens of the United States to vote is not denied on account of race or color; and
WHEREAS, The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution grants the Congress of the United States the authority to protect the right to vote; and
WHEREAS, The Congress of the United States has exercised its authority to protect the right to vote by passing landmark legislation of the civil rights era known as the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1971 et seq.); and
WHEREAS, Sections 4 and 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 have contributed to the immense progress in protecting and expanding the right to vote over the past few decades by ensuring that state and local election practices are just and fair; and
WHEREAS, The Supreme Court of the United States, in Shelby County v. Holder, held that the coverage formula in Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is unconstitutional in violation of the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and can no longer be used as a basis for requiring jurisdictions to subject proposed changes in voting procedures to federal preclearance under Section 5 of the act; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature urges the Congress and President of the United States to enact amendments to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that would restore Section 4 with a new coverage formula and update the entire act in order to address ongoing violations of voting rights in the states; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States.