Whereas the ratification of the 15th Amendment in 1870 affirms that voting rights cannot be denied to citizens on the basis of race; Whereas post-Reconstruction Jim Crow laws severely restricted voting rights, particularly those of African Americans; Whereas the Voting Rights Act of 1965 contributed to a significant increase in voter registration and participation by African Americans and other minorities; Whereas the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder struck down section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the coverage provision of the law that identified States and political subdivisions with a chronic history of passing restrictive voting laws; Whereas the Shelby County decision effectively nullified section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which allowed the Department of Justice and Federal courts to preclear any proposed changes to voting rules, allowing a preemptive strike to unjust and discriminatory voting laws in the regions identified by section 4(b); Whereas the absence of this preclearance requirement has allowed for voter suppression laws to proliferate by permitting States and political subdivisions to pass restrictive voting laws without Federal preclearance to determine if the laws are racially discriminatory; Whereas since the Shelby County decision, 29 laws have been passed in 11 States that had been subject to preclearance; Whereas restricting early voting disproportionately affects people of color, low-income citizens, and the elderly, who often rely on flexible, early voting periods; Whereas many voting-eligible, low-income Latino voters are naturalized United States citizens who lack proof of citizenship and cannot afford a Certificate of Citizenship or a Replacement Certificate of Naturalization, which cost $1,170 and $555, respectively