Texas Legislature Advances Voting Restrictions

AUSTIN, TEXAS - Majority Republicans in the Texas Senate on Sunday approved one of the most restrictive new voting laws in the U.S. after rushing the bill to the floor in the middle of the night.

The sweeping measure, known as Senate Bill 7, passed along party lines around 6 a.m. after eight hours of questioning by Democrats, who have virtually no path to stop it from becoming law. But the bill must still clear a final vote in the Texas House in order to reach Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who is expected to sign it. “I have grave concerns about a bill that was crafted in the shadows and passed late at night,” said Democratic state Sen. Beverly Powell. Under revisions during closed-door negotiations, Republicans added language that could make it easier for a judge to overturn an election and pushed back the start of Sunday voting, when many Black churchgoers head to the polls. The 67-page measure would also eliminate drive-thru voting and 24-hour polling centers, both of which Harris County, the state’s largest Democratic stronghold, introduced last year.