Texas Governor Signs New Republican Voting Restrictions into Law

TYLER, TEXAS - Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Tuesday an elections overhaul that adds more voting restrictions in the booming state. Democrats had spent months protesting what they say are efforts to weaken minority turnout and preserve the Republican Party's eroding dominance in the state. 

Abbott signed the sweeping changes during a ceremony in the East Texas city of Tyler, where the surrounding county went for former President Donald Trump by a more than 2-to-1 margin last year. But it was far closer in Texas overall, with Trump carrying the state by 5 1/2 percentage points, the thinnest margin of victory by a Republican presidential nominee here in decades.  The bill signing again underlined the hard right turn Texas Republicans made this year, including a new state law that took effect last week banning most abortions.  Texas is among at least 18 states that have enacted new voting restrictions since the 2020 election, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.