Title
Calling on the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate to hold hearings on voter suppression and voter intimidation during the 2020 United States presidential election.
Body
WHEREAS, According to the Center for Public Integrity, barriers to voting that disproportionately impact Black, Latino, and Native American communities are not exclusive to the southern states formerly subject to federal oversight under the Voting Rights Act; and
WHEREAS, Every state in the United States of America has laws or practices in place preventing equal access to and representation at the election polls, including the disenfranchisement of people who have been formerly incarcerated, strict voter ID laws, restrictions on absentee and mail-in balloting, and shutting down polling places in predominantly Black and Brown communities; and
WHEREAS, Thirty states currently use signature matching as a voter fraud-prevention measure, which disqualified hundreds of thousands of ballots during the 2016 presidential election. Ballot rejections disproportionately affect certain demographic groups, including elderly voters, young voters, and voters of color. In some states like Ohio, voters can correct these errors before Election Day. In other states like Texas, local officials have no obligations to notify voters if their ballot was rejected; and
WHEREAS, In Arizona and other states, it is illegal for people to deliver someone else's filled-out ballet to a polling station. In Tennessee, protestors camping on state property can be convicted of a felony and lose their right to vote. In Connecticut, early voting and no-excuse absentee balloting are not allowed, and absentee ballots arriving after Election Day are not counted. In Rhode Island, there is a requirement that photo IDs must not have expired within six months of voting, despite the fact that the state's Department of Motor Vehicles has mostly been shut down since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic; an...
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