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Vote on Texas Bill to Make Voting Tougher Blocked by No Quorum

Reuters

   SAN ANTONIO - Democrats in the Texas Houseof Representatives boycotted
   a legislative session late Sunday,blocking a vote on an election reform
   bill critics say wouldmake it harder for Blacks and Hispanics to vote.

   With just over an hour before a midnight deadline to passthe measure,
   Republican members of the House said that Democratshad walked out to
   deny the House a quorum for a vote.

   The Texas House went into recess until 10 a.m. local time onMonday -
   beyond the midnight Sunday deadline to pass legislationin this session.

   A vote on the measure is certain to pass theRepublican-dominated house.
   Texas Governor Greg Abbott, whostrongly supports the bill, said in a
   late Sundayemailedstatement that the bill would be added to a special
   legislativesession planned for this fall.

   Supporters of the legislation said it is needed to bolsterelection
   security. The country's second-most-populous statealready has some of
   the most restrictive electoral laws in theUnited States, even without
   the pending bill.

   The proposed bill states that the changes "are not intendedto impair
   the right of free suffrage" but are necessary to"prevent fraud in the
   electoral process."

   Republican U.S. Representative Michael McCaul of Texas toldCNN's "State
   of the Union" that the intent is to "give theAmerican people more trust
   in our elections."

   Democrats and civil rights groups argue that suchlegislation
   disproportionately burdens or discourages voters ofcolor, as well as
   the elderly and disabled.

   There were no substantial allegations of fraud in Texas inlast year's
   election and Republicans maintained theirthree-decade grip on all
   statewide offices.

   Republican state lawmakers across the country have pursuedmore
   stringent voting restrictions following former PresidentDonald Trump's
   false claim that he lost the 2020 electionbecause of widespread
   election fraud.

   So far, 14 other U.S. states have enacted 22 laws this yearthat make it
   more difficult for Americans to vote, according toa report released on
   Friday by the Brennan Center for Justice.

   Scrapping innovations

   The Texas bill would strike down innovations used duringlast November's
   election because of the coronavirus pandemic.

   Drive-through voting, credited with helping spark recordvoter turnout
   in Houston, will no longer be allowed. The billalso limits early hours
   to vote, makes it more difficult tocastabsentee ballots and does away
   with drop boxes.

   The bill would forbid voting on Sundays before 1 p.m.

   Critics called that a blatant strike on the "Souls to the Polls"effort
   at Black churches, when worshippers have traditionallytraveled in
   caravans to polling sites to cast votes aftermorning services.

   The legislation would also scrap 24-hour polling sites andban mobile
   units or temporary structures from being used aspolling places.

   The bill would also make it easier for courts to overturnelections
   where fraud is alleged.

   Instead of requiring evidencethat fraudulent votes directly resulted in
   a candidate's win, acourt couldoverturnanelection if the number of
   fraudulentvotes is equal to the margin of victory, regardless of who
   thosefraudulent votes were cast for.

   New requirements would take effect as well for Texans whowant to vote
   through the mail and election officials would bebarred from sending
   unsolicited mail-in ballot applications tovoters. The legislation would
   also make the removal ofdisruptive, partisan poll watchers more
   difficult.

   Democratic President Joe Biden said in a statement onSaturday that the
   legislation in Texas "attacks the sacred rightto vote."

   Earlier this month, dozens of companies - including AmericanAirlines
   Group Inc, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Coand Microsoft Corp - urged
   legislators toreject any law restricting access to ballots.

   'In their place'

   Members of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus and thestate's NAACP
   civil rights organization said the bill hearkenedback to the Jim
   Crow-era, when laws were enacted to block Blacksfrom voting and to
   maintain racial segregation in the U.S.Southfrom the late 19th century
   into the 1960s.

   "This is a clear case of taking power and putting minoritiesin their
   place so they can never share power in Texas," GaryBledsoe, president
   of the state's NAACP chapter, said ahead ofthe vote.

   Julian Castro, secretary of housing and urban developmentunder former
   President Barack Obama and a former mayor of SanAntonio, told a
   Democratic Party news conference that therapidly shifting demographics
   of Texas had Republicans "running

   scared because they know that this state is changing and they'reafraid
   of the consequences."

   Hispanics are forecast by the official Texasstate demographerto surpass
   non-Hispanic whites as the largest grouplater this year.

   Former Democratic Representative Beto O'Rourke, speakingduring the same
   news conference, urged the U.S. Congress to passexpanded voting rights
   to stymie the vote-restriction efforts inRepublican-controlled states,
   so that the United States wouldnot revert to "Jim Crow 2.0."

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