Texas Lawmakers Overcome Roadblock On Bill Restricting Voting Rights

August 20, 2021 by Tom Ramstack
Texas Lawmakers Overcome Roadblock On Bill Restricting Voting Rights
Texas State Sen. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, wears running shoes as she filibusters Senate Bill 1, a voting bill, at the Texas Capitol Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Legislature is on track to pass another controversial state law restricting the right to vote after breaking a deadlock caused by Democrats who fled to Washington, D.C. to prevent enactment.

The Democrats were trying to interfere with the quorum required for passage by the state legislature.

Otherwise, they knew they were going to lose to Republicans who favor restrictions such as a ban on drive-through voting and elimination of round-the-clock voting stations. The bill also would expand access of partisan poll watchers and require reporting of unauthorized voters to law enforcement officials.

The bill passed three times in the state Senate this year, where the heavily Republican majority said it would ensure election integrity.

It stalled in the more Democratic House until lawmakers renegotiated a slightly more bipartisan version of the bill last month. The new version convinced just enough Democrats that recent surveys of state legislators showed it had the votes to pass.

That’s when more than 50 Democrats decided they needed to conduct business out-of-state, which also prevented a quorum.

They started returning in the past couple of days after facing the risk of arrest. By Thursday night, the House had reached the bare minimum of 99 members present for a quorum.

The Democrats did not have much choice but to return.

Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan threatened to have them arrested and forced to return to the state legislature to reach a quorum. A Travis County District judge put the arrest warrants on hold until the ruling Thursday by the Texas Supreme Court.

The state Supreme Court agreed the arrest warrants could be enforced.

“They broke quorum to prevent the legislature, in special session, from enacting voting legislation they oppose. They fled the state to escape the jurisdiction of the House, whose internal rules provide that absent members may be ‘arrested’ and their attendance ‘secured and retained,'” the ruling said.

Although they were empowered to make the arrests, law enforcement officers only left warrants at Democrats’ homes.

A few Democrats remained holdouts Friday, including Rep. Michelle Beckley. She chastised the lawmakers who returned to Texas in a tweet that said, “This is how Texas Democrats lose elections.”

Democrats are most concerned about limited hours for polling places and the ban on drive-through voting.

They reason that many low-wage workers would have difficulty leaving their jobs to vote during the hours the polling stations would be open.

They also say drive-through voting would expand election access by reducing voters’ time away from other commitments.

Republicans argue that making voting too easy reduces safeguards needed to prevent election fraud.

A Texas Legislature hearing on the voting bill is scheduled for Saturday.

Eighteen states so far have passed similar laws this year, all of them amid complaints about unfairness to low-income and minority voters. The most restrictive come from Arizona, Florida and Georgia.

Meanwhile, Congress continues work on bills that would set minimum standards for elections, despite protests that any federal legislation would infringe upon states’ constitutional rights to control how voting is done.

A+
a-
  • Democrats
  • Texas
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    In The States

    Louis Gossett Jr., 1st Black Man to Win Supporting Actor Oscar, Dies at 87

    LOS ANGELES (AP) — Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for... Read More

    LOS ANGELES (AP) — Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the seminal TV miniseries “Roots,” has died. He was 87. Gossett's nephew told The Associated Press that the actor died Thursday night in Santa Monica,... Read More

    March 28, 2024
    by Tom Ramstack
    Disney World Settles with Florida After Its Opposition to 'Don’t Say Gay' Law

    ORLANDO — The company that runs Walt Disney World reached a settlement Wednesday with appointees of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis... Read More

    ORLANDO — The company that runs Walt Disney World reached a settlement Wednesday with appointees of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis who were exerting controversial regulatory control over the huge tourism complex. The settlement resolves some of the disputes that arose after Disney officials publicly denounced the... Read More

    March 26, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    Sen. Blumenthal Lauds Expansion of Tax Credit for Offshore Wind Projects

    NEW LONDON, Conn. — Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., visited State Pier in New London, Connecticut, on Monday to tout and... Read More

    NEW LONDON, Conn. — Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., visited State Pier in New London, Connecticut, on Monday to tout and celebrate the Biden administration’s decision to expand eligibility of federal tax credits for offshore wind projects. “This tax credit has been a long time in coming,”... Read More

    Biden and Harris Team Up for Health Care Event in North Carolina

    WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will promote their health care agenda on Tuesday in... Read More

    WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will promote their health care agenda on Tuesday in North Carolina, a battleground state that Democrats hope to flip in their favor after falling short to Donald Trump in the last two presidential elections. Fourteen... Read More

    Cargo Ship Hits Baltimore's Key Bridge, Bringing It Down

    BALTIMORE (AP) — A container ship rammed into a major bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday, causing it to snap and... Read More

    BALTIMORE (AP) — A container ship rammed into a major bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday, causing it to snap and plunge into the river below. Several vehicles fell into the chilly waters, and rescuers searched for survivors. It was also not clear what caused the cargo... Read More

    March 25, 2024
    by Tom Ramstack
    DC Attorney General Warns Sports Teams About Relocating to Virginia

    WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia’s attorney general is invoking a contract provision with local professional sports teams in the... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia’s attorney general is invoking a contract provision with local professional sports teams in the city’s latest bid to keep them from relocating to Northern Virginia. D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb told Monumental Sports and Entertainment in a letter last week... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top