SR 20-01 - Resolution on Supporting Student Participation in the Electoral Process

WHEREAS the right (and responsibility) to vote is enshrined in Article I, Section 2 of the US Constitution; and

WHEREAS 2020 is the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, issued in 1870, which gave the right to vote to all male citizens, regardless “of race, color, or previous condition of servitude”; and

WHEREAS 2020 is the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, issued in 1920, which gave the right to vote to all female citizens; and

WHEREAS 2020 is the 56th anniversary of the ratification of the Twenty-Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution, issued in 1964, and the 55th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which collectively ended poll taxes, literacy tests, and other measures adopted to restrict voting by poor persons and persons of color; and

WHEREAS 2020 is the 49th anniversary of the ratification of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment to the US Constitution, issued in 1971, which lowered the voting age from 21 to 18; and

WHEREAS the federal Election Day is set by federal law to occur on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November; and

WHEREAS for many Americans a Tuesday election conflicts with regular obligations of employment and education, rendering them unable to participate fully in the electoral process; and

WHEREAS eleven states and two territories recognize the importance of Election Day by designating it a state holiday; and

WHEREAS the State of California permits all citizens, whether natural born or naturalized, and all residents who would be eligible to vote save for their citizenship status, to participate in the electoral process in such official capacities as poll-worker; and

WHEREAS the scope of the electoral process offers opportunities for community-level participation of all citizens and residents, regardless of immigration status; and

WHEREAS the State of California requires employers to provide two hours with pay at the beginning or end of shifts to employees who would otherwise be unable to vote; and

WHEREAS neither the CSU System nor CSU Channel Islands has implemented policies to extend a similar courtesy to students; and

WHEREAS a two-hour window is deemed insufficient in that it would neither account for the distances that our students commute nor support participation beyond the act of casting a ballot.

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the Academic Senate designates Election Day as a day of optional attendance, freeing students to participate in the electoral process, without prejudice; and further

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the Academic Senate supports the designation of Election Day as a day of optional instruction, freeing faculty to participate in the electoral process, without prejudice; and further

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the Academic Senate supports a systemwide designation of Election Day as a day of optional reporting, freeing all staff, whether CI employees or contractors, to participate in the electoral process, without prejudice.