That the Senate—
designates September 2020 as “National Voting Rights Month”;
encourages all people in the United States to uphold the right of every citizen to exercise the sacred and fundamental right to vote;
commemorates—
the 100th anniversary of Senate passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which guarantees women the right to vote; and
the legacy of generations of suffragists who fought to protect women’s rights at the ballot;
encourages Congress to pass—
the For the People Act of 2019 (S. 949 and H.R. 1 of the 116th Congress), to increase voters’ access to the ballot, prohibit the use of deceptive practices to intimidate voters, end gerrymandering, create automatic voter registration, limit the power of restrictive voter identification laws, make critical investments in election infrastructure and technology, and address corruption in campaign finance and ethics;
the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2020 (H.R. 4 of the 116th Congress) (introduced in the Senate as the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019 (S. 561 of the 116th Congress)), to restore the protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.) that prohibit discriminatory voting practices, remove barriers to voting, and provide protections for minority voters in States with a history of voting discrimination;
the Natural Disaster and Emergency Ballot Act of 2020 (S. 4033 of the 116th Congress), 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 by, among other things—
guaranteeing no-excuse absentee voting;
expanding early voting;
providing self-sealing return envelopes with prepaid postage for—
voter registration applications;
absentee-ballot applications; and
absentee ballots; and
providing accommodations for voters on Indian lands;
the Delivering for America Act (S. 4527 and H.R. 8015 in the 116th Congress), 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 1, 2020, establish requirements for the processing of election mail, and provide additional funding for the Postal Service Fund;
the Securing America’s Federal Elections Act, or the SAFE Act (S. 2238 of the 116th Congress), to provide funding for States to improve the administration of elections, including by enhancing technology and election security, replacing antiquated voting systems, and meeting new standards for administering elections; and
other voting rights legislation that seeks to advance voting rights and protect elections in the United States;
recommends that public schools and universities in the United States develop an academic curriculum that educates students about—
the importance of voting, how to register to vote, where to vote, and the different forms of voting;
the history of voter suppression in the United States before and after passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965; and
current measures that have been taken to restrict the vote;
encourages the United States Postal Service to issue a special John R. Lewis stamp during the month of September—
to honor the life and legacy of John R. Lewis in supporting voting rights; and
to remind people in the United States that ordinary citizens risked their lives, marched, and participated in the great democracy of the United States so that all citizens would have the fundamental right to vote; and
invites Congress to allocate the requisite funds for public service announcements on television, radio, newspapers, magazines, social media, billboards, buses, and other forms of media—
to remind people in the United States when elections are being held;
to share important registration deadlines; and
to urge people to get out and vote.