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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION DESIGNATING UTAH

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WOMEN'S VOTER REGISTRATION DAY

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2019 GENERAL SESSION

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STATE OF UTAH

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Chief Sponsor: Melissa G. Ballard

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Senate Sponsor: Deidre M. Henderson

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8     LONG TITLE
9     General Description:
10          This concurrent resolution designates February 14 as Utah Women's Voter Registration
11     Day.
12     Highlighted Provisions:
13          This resolution:
14          ▸     designates February 14 as Utah Women's Voter Registration Day.
15     Special Clauses:
16          None
17     

18     Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
19          WHEREAS, on February 14, 1870, Utah women became the first women to vote in the
20     modern nation;
21          WHEREAS, on February 12, 1870, the Utah Territorial Legislature unanimously voted
22     to give women the right to vote in political elections;
23          WHEREAS, the year 2020 marks both the 150th anniversary of the first vote cast by a
24     woman, on February 14, 1870, in Utah, and the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the
25     Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution on August 18, 1920, granting women
26     the right to vote and beginning the expansion of women's voting rights throughout the United
27     States;

28          WHEREAS, overall voter turnout in Utah has dropped from 5th among the 50 states
29     and the District of Columbia in 1980 to 39th in 2016;
30          WHEREAS, according to the November 2016 U.S. Census Bureau Current Population
31     Survey, Table 4b, there were 288,000 women in Utah who were not registered to vote,
32     comprising 29.2% of the female citizen voting age population;
33          WHEREAS, National Voter Registration Day has been celebrated on the last Tuesday
34     of September since 2012, but a Women's Voter Registration Day does not currently exist
35     collectively in the United States or individually in any of the 50 states or the District of
36     Columbia; and
37          WHEREAS, Utah was a leader in the women's emancipation movement in the 19th
38     century and can again assume a leadership position in promoting women's civil engagement:
39          NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Utah, the
40     Governor concurring therein, that February 14 is designated this year and henceforth as Utah
41     Women's Voter Registration Day.
42          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Utah Women's Voter Registration Day be a
43     celebration of democracy, rights, and opportunities for all women in Utah.