Texas is moving closer to passing Senate Bill 7.
The bill will prohibit drive-thru voting, limit early voting hours, and make it illegal for elected officials to send applications to vote by mail. Voting rights activists are calling the bill suppressive.
“Make no mistake, Senate Bill 7 will disproportionately restrict the right to vote of all eligible voters, but especially that of marginalized communities, and deny young, disabled, Black and Brown voters their voice in the rising Texas electorate,” H. Drew Galloway, Executive Director for MOVE Texas Action Fund, said. “Texas is already one of the hardest states to vote in in the country. We should be expanding the right to vote, not restricting it.”
Texas Democratic Party Chair, Gilberto Hinojosa, said that Texas Republicans are attempting to take Texas back into the Jim Crow era.
“Texas Republicans are delusional if they expect anyone to accept this legislation without a fight. We will fight tooth and nail to stop this bill from being signed into law, and if it is, we will see Republicans in court,” Hinojosa said.
Republicans say the bill will preserve Texas’ integrity in elections.
“These are provisions that will apply across the board [to] every voter. They’re consistent, they’re fair, they’re about making it easier to vote… and make it hard to cheat. Every vote should count and every voter should know that their vote will be counted,” Senator Bryan Hughes said.
According to a study from the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University, 361 bills that restrict voting access have been introduced in 47 states as of March 24.
