Current Voter Suppression Bills in Texas

Did you know that it is harder to cast your ballot in Texas than in any other state? While we might like to think our elected officials are hard at work for Texans, in fact Republicans in the Texas Senate and House are actively trying to restrict the access to vote even more. Beware of politicians who say they just want to eliminate voter fraud – what they really want is to suppress people’s right to vote. We have seen in 2020 and 2021 that Texas governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have worked really hard to restrict access to vote by mail, secure ballot drop boxes, drive-through voting, and other voter-friendly measures.

Here’s a quick rundown on the bills that Texas Republicans hope will reduce the number of voters even more:

• Senate Bill 7 would ban counties from proactively sending out vote-by-mail applications, and would prohibit counties from even encouraging voters to apply to vote by mail. SB 7 would also require voters with disabilities to get and show documentation to qualify to vote by mail. It allows poll watchers to video or record voters, which is a dangerous next step to harassment.
• House Bill 6 would restrict election workers’ ability to protect voters from illegal disruption and harassment from “watchers”.
• Senate Bill 1115 would keep jurisdictions from offering expanded hours to vote
• Senate Bill 1113 would punish election officials if they do not purge voter rolls aggressively enough (Texas has a poor history of sloppy purges that keep eligible citizens from voting)

What’s a Texan to do? How can each individual citizen change these restrictions on the right to vote? First, stop Texas Senate Bill 7 and the other voter suppression bills in the Texas Senate and House. At the federal level, tell your US Congressional representatives to pass both the 1) John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore the full protections of the Voting Rights Act and prevent discrimination in voting, and the 2) For the People Act, which sets a minimum federal baseline of access in federal elections for all states.

To find out who represents you in Texas, so you can tell them to vote against these voter suppression bills, go here:

Make your vote count – cast your ballot at every election!

Need a ride to the polling station? Rideshare2Vote provides free round-trip rides to polling places for marginalized voters. You can call 1-888-977-2250 to schedule a ride or request a Ride2vote online. We provide rides for municipal, county, local, state and federal elections.

References:

1. Texas Tribune, “Analysis: It’s harder to vote in Texas than in any other state,” by Ross Ramsey, Oct 19, 2020.
2. Brennan Center for Justice, Voter Suppression in the Lone Star State, Past and Potential Future, by Myrna Pérez, March 15, 2021.

by Felicia Madrigal