Texas moves closer to passing restrictive voting legislation

US civil rights group says legislation will make it ‘harder and scarier to vote’, especially for people of colour.

The US state of Texas has moved closer to passing a contentious bill on voting restrictions that United States President Joe Biden earlier denounced as “part of an assault on democracy” that would disproportionately harm Black people and other people of colour. The legislation, which Texas’s Republican Governor Greg Abbott has said he plans to sign into law if passed, would eliminate drive-through voting, empower partisan poll watchers and limit voting on Sundays, when many Black churchgoers head to the polls, among other restrictions. The Texas Senate passed the bill in an 18-13 vote shortly after 6am local time (11:00 GMT) on Sunday after an overnight debate, The New York Times reported, and the House is expected to take up the measure later in the day. The legislative session is set to expire at midnight.