Title
Encouraging all eligible Saint Paul citizens to vote in the November 3rd 2020 election and all elections; and reaffirming support for the promotion of legislative efforts nationwide that enable, rather than suppress, voter participation in elections.
Body
WHEREAS, the right to vote in free and fair elections is a cornerstone of our democracy; and
WHEREAS, every eligible citizen should be able to vote, every vote should be counted, and all election results should be respected; and
WHEREAS, no voter should be subject to intimidation of any kind, and no ballot should be illegitimately disqualified; and
WHEREAS, recent history has demonstrated that claims of voter fraud have predicated legislative efforts to suppress voter participation in elections; and
WHEREAS, a 2013 North Carolina statute establishing strict voter identification requirements, which the Fourth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals invalidated in July 2016 as unconstitutionally discriminatory, was enacted by legislators claiming a need to protect election integrity; and
WHEREAS, nationwide academic and media studies have found negligible rates of credible claims of voter fraud; and
WHEREAS, a 2014 Loyola Law School study published in the Washington Post found only thirty-three credible claims of impersonation voter fraud between 2000 and 2014, out of more than one billion ballots cast; and
WHEREAS, unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud undermine public confidence in the electoral process and justify pernicious laws that create needless and discriminatory obstacles to voter participation; and
WHEREAS, the will of voters should be respected by all citizens, and especially those to take an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Saint Paul encourages all eligible citizens to exercise their right to vote in the upcoming and all subsequent elections and reaffirms its support for the promotion of legislative efforts nationwide that encourage and enable, rather than suppress, voter participation in elections.