Bill Text: NY J00704 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Commemorating the 58th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-04-10 - ADOPTED [J00704 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-J00704-Introduced.html

---

Senate Resolution No. 704

BY: Senator WEBB

        COMMEMORATING  the  58th Anniversary of the Voting
        Rights Act of 1965

  WHEREAS, It is the sense of this  Legislative  Body  to  commemorate
significant  events which represent turning points in our unique history
and which are indelibly etched in the saga of our great Nation; and

  WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and  in  full  accord  with  its
long-standing  traditions,  this  Legislative  Body  is  justly proud to
commemorate the 58th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to  be
celebrated at an event on Sunday, August 6, 2023; and

  WHEREAS,  During this auspicious occasion, it is imperative to raise
awareness and educate all Americans on their right to vote on  a  local,
state, and/or federal level; and

  WHEREAS,  On  August 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the
Voting Rights Act into law; this landmark piece of  federal  legislation
in the United States prohibits racial discrimination in voting; Congress
later amended the Act five times to expand its protections; and

  WHEREAS,  Designed  to  enforce  the voting rights guaranteed by the
Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United  States  Constitution,
the  Act  allowed  for  a  mass  enfranchisement  of  racial  minorities
throughout the country, especially in the South; according to the United
States Department of Justice, the Act  is  considered  to  be  the  most
effective  piece  of  civil  rights  legislation  ever  enacted  in this
country; and

  WHEREAS, The Voting Rights Act  of  1965's  effects  were  wide  and
powerful;  by 1968, nearly 60 percent of eligible African Americans were
registered to vote in Mississippi,  and  other  southern  states  showed
similar improvement; and

  WHEREAS,  Today,  almost  six decades later, the struggle for voting
rights remains, even though the freedom to vote is  fundamental  to  our
democracy; and

  WHEREAS,  It  is  the custom of this Legislative Body to commemorate
events of significance in the history  and  progress  of  society;  now,
therefore, be it

  RESOLVED,  That  this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 58th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of  1965;  and
be it further

  RESOLVED,  That  a  copy  of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to Rejoice the Vote.