[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 631 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 631

  Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the Indian Civil Rights Act and 
voting rights for American Indian and Alaska Native communities across 
                              the country.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 18, 2018

   Ms. Klobuchar (for herself and Mr. Udall) submitted the following 
    resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the Indian Civil Rights Act and 
voting rights for American Indian and Alaska Native communities across 
                              the country.

Whereas American Indians and Alaska Natives have historically been denied the 
        right to vote;
Whereas, after serving in World War II and returning home, many American Indian 
        veterans were not able to vote;
Whereas, on July 15, 1946, in Harrison v. Laveen, Chief Justice Levi S. Udall of 
        the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that Maricopa County, Arizona, must 
        allow Mohave-Apache Indians to register to vote, overruling decades of 
        precedent in which the State of Arizona prohibited American Indians from 
        voting;
Whereas, in holding that American Indians were entitled to the franchise, Chief 
        Justice Udall noted that, ``[i]n a democracy suffrage is the most basic 
        civil right, since its exercise is the chief means whereby other rights 
        may be safeguarded. To deny the right to vote, where one is legally 
        entitled to do so, is to do violence to the principles of freedom and 
        equality.'';
Whereas, in New Mexico in 1948, Miguel Trujillo, a Marine Corps veteran and 
        Isleta Pueblo tribal member, was turned away from registering to vote 
        because he was living on a reservation;
Whereas, in 1948, the United States District Court for the District of New 
        Mexico struck down limitations in the State Constitution of New Mexico 
        that prevented those who lived on reservations from voting;
Whereas, prior to 1968, American Indians were not provided the same protections 
        as other citizens under the United States Constitution;
Whereas, in 1968, Congress passed the Indian Civil Rights Act ``to ensure that 
        the American Indian is afforded the broad constitutional rights secured 
        to other Americans'';
Whereas Alaska was the last State to enfranchise American Indian voters in 1970;
Whereas, even though American Indians and Alaska Natives currently have the 
        lawful right to vote across the United States, they continue to face 
        barriers and obstacles to voting;
Whereas some American Indians and Alaska Natives in Alaska, Arizona, Nevada, 
        Minnesota, South Dakota, and other States may have to travel 50 to 400 
        miles to vote;
Whereas the Native American vote continues to play a significant role in local, 
        State, and national elections;
Whereas, in States such as Alaska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and South Dakota, 
        American Indians and Alaska Natives comprise 10 percent or more of the 
        voting-age population;
Whereas American Indians and Alaska Natives serve in the United States military 
        at a higher per capita rate than any other ethnic group; and
Whereas American Indians and Alaska Natives are an important part of the history 
        of the United States, and vibrant contributors to the social and 
        political fabric of the United States: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) honors the 50th anniversary of title II of the Civil 
        Rights Act of 1968 (25 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.; commonly known as 
        the ``Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968''); and
            (2) recognizes the important contributions of Native 
        Americans to expanding voting rights for all citizens of the 
        United States.
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