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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Texas Republicans tabled bills on Sunday that would make it harder to vote in a state that already has some of the nation’s toughest restrictions after hundreds spoke against the proposals – with some waiting almost 24 hours to to speak.
Republicans made it clear that they intend to push a new electoral law this weekend – which would ban 24-hour polling stations, ban post boxes, and stop drive-through voting – with a first big vote on the proposals expected this week . This schedule is pushing some Democratic lawmakers to call for a second strike to stop restrictions again, as they did in May when they broke the quorum.
Texas is one of several states with GOP-controlled state houses where Republicans rushed to enact tough electoral laws in response to former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 elections were stolen from him. A second strike by the Texas Democrats – which some consider their best, if not only option – would greatly escalate their efforts to deny Republicans an important priority and, in turn, put more pressure on President Joe Biden to act on the vote at the federal level.
Beto O’Rourke, the former Texas Democratic Congressman considering challenging Republican Governor Greg Abbott in 2022, said he has already offered help and is ready to raise funds “literally to feed and support lawmakers host ”if they take this path.
“Shall we stay? No way. Jarvis Johnson from the democratic state said, “Nothing is done seriously. Nothing is done with the greatest respect for one another.”
For weeks, the Democratic leaders in the Texas House have announced that they will not rule out another revolt, but have also expressed the hope of weakening the law during the 30-day special session. However, Johnson believes many of his colleagues are willing to deny Republicans a quorum a second time, though most continue to speak cautiously.
“You may know my next step, but you can’t stop it. You never knew when Mike Tyson was going to throw the uppercut, but you knew he was going to throw it, ”he said.
Another strike could only buy more time: Abbott could call another 30-day special session pending voting measures. Paychecks for nearly 2,000 Capitol employees could also be at stake as Abbott vetoed legislative funding after the Democrats’ nightly strike. He has signaled that he will restore that funding this summer – when lawmakers are around to put a bill on his desk.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, elected chairman of the governing body of the Houston district, said Abbott “blackmailed” lawmakers to get the bill through. Hidalgo said she would support Democratic lawmakers breaking the quorum again to block passage of the bill.
“It is very important to me to recognize that voting rights should take precedence over politics,” said Hidalgo. “We can do that on all sorts of issues, but not with voting, not with democracy.”
Nacal Tate, who volunteers for the NAACP chapter in Collin County in the Dallas area, said she woke up at 4 a.m. Saturday morning to drive several hours to Austin to testify against proposed election restrictions. Tate said that meant missing out on her grandniece’s birthday party, but it was worth the sacrifice. Some of the provisions, if they were to become law, would affect seniors, such as themselves and others, who would receive help in the elections due to proposed penalties for poll workers who make mistakes.
“It’s a suppression of our constitutional rights,” said Tate.
The last time the Texas Democrats left the state to withhold a quorum was in 2003 when they went to Oklahoma and New Mexico to try to block new voting cards drawn by the GOP. They were gone for more than a month, but ultimately the Republicans passed a new reallocation plan.
The versions of the revived voting amendments passed by a House committee on Sunday – at 7:30 a.m., nearly 24 hours after the debate began – and by a Senate committee later that afternoon no longer contain two of the most controversial provisions: the ban on Sunday morning voting when many black churchgoers vote, and a language that would have made it easier for a judge to overturn elections.
Hundreds of opponents huddled in overcrowded rooms in the Capitol and waited hours for their testimony. It was the largest anti-law turnout this year in Texas, where COVID-19 concerns have dampened the crowds.
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Acacia Coronado is a corps member of the Associated Press / Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a not-for-profit national utility that places journalists on local newsrooms to cover undercover issues.
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