Texas Passes election Reform more than six months after it was first introduced and Texas Democrats

Texas House passes election reform measure after months of delays | Just The News

Texas House passes election reform measure after months of delays

Passage comes roughly six months after the Senate bill was filed and after Democrats fled the state for nearly six weeks to stall passage.

Passage comes roughly six months after the Senate bill was filed and after Democrats fled the state for nearly six weeks in an attempt to sabotage it.

Lawmakers debated the bill for 12 hours Thursday, casting dozens of initials votes, before final passage came in a mostly partisan, 80 to 41 vote Friday.

Election integrity was identified as a key legislative priority of Gov. Greg Abbott’s in the regular legislative session, but House Republican leadership could not advance the bill.

It failed a second time in the first special legislative session after House Democrats absconded for Washington, D.C., claiming the bill would suppress voter turnout, particularly among minorities.

According to the bill summary, the Election Integrity Protection Act of 2021 would modify state statutes on voter registration; the conduct and security of elections, poll watchers and election officers; early voting by mail; set penalties for election fraud and interference; and make election processes uniform throughout the state.

It would eliminate drive-through and 24-hour early voting, which some counties used during the pandemic in 2020. It would expand early voting hours in some smaller and medium-sized counties and add ID requirements for voting by mail.