HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 204

(By Delegates Hansen, Hornbuckle, Fluharty, Hamilton, Garcia, Griffith, Lewis, Pushkin, Rowe, Williams and Young)

[Introduced October 7, 2024; referred
to the Committee on the Judiciary.]

Requesting that members of the Legislature facilitate and promote respect for our democracy and government institutions and encourage acceptance of the results of our free and fair elections regardless of who prevails, and to facilitate trust of our election officials to fairly conduct our elections and our court system to address any violations of our voting laws and process; and to allow those processes to work without interference or attack.

Whereas, Our Constitutionally established republic requires that its citizens respect and adhere to its institutional processes and the free election process and judicial review of any claims of unfairness; and

Whereas, Our system of government requires that government officials that have been elected by our political process encourage our citizens to respect our laws and the long-established system of checks and balances, and to resist advancing objections or criticisms against our election system based on a particular election outcome; and

Whereas, Over the history of our country, when institutional processes denied millions of our citizens the right to vote based on race and sex, the citizens so denied did not attack our elections and institutions as being illegitimate to advance their cause, but used the righteousness of their cause to stroke the consciousness of our country to change our laws to effect change, and as a result of these efforts all citizens of this country now have the equal right to vote and participate in their government; and

Whereas, The current attacks by elected officials of our election system which placed them in their elected position, is not only disingenuous but also constitutes the largest threat to our system of government that has existed since the United States Civil War.

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Legislature of the State of West Virginia asks all its citizens and elected officials to resist in spreading rumor and distrust, allow our system of checks and balances to work, and if any elected official fears that our election process has been tampered with, report it to the Secretary of State and county officials and to personally resist alleging in the media and to voters that because their candidate lost, the system is fraudulent, and to allow our system of government and our judicial process to fairly resolve allegations based on facts and laws, rather than emotion and personal disappointment.

Further Resolved, That the Clerk of each House forward a copy of this resolution to the United States Congress.