Texas governor signs election bill further restricting voting rights News
© WikiMedia (Lorie Shaull)
Texas governor signs election bill further restricting voting rights

Texas Governor Greg Abbot signed Senate Bill 1 into law on Tuesday placing further restrictions on voting in the state.

Before Abbot signed what he refers to as the “Election Integrity Protection Act,” he said: “We must have trust and confidence in our elections. The bill that I am about to sign helps to achieve that goal.” After signing the bill, he shared that he would “be astonished if a law like this was not challenged in court.” However, he added that he feels “extremely confident that when this law makes it through the litigation phase, it will be upheld in a court of law.”

The Texas legislature passed SB 1 last week. The new law bans drive-through voting and prohibits nonprofit organizations from distributing mail-in ballot applications. The law also seeks to heighten voting restrictions by imposing stricter ID requirements, a new state citizenship confirmation process, limited voting hours, and increased audits and criminal penalties.

SB 1 has remained a controversial topic since Texas Democrats walked out during a special session to prevent Republican legislators from passing it. Abbot ordered the summer session to push several Republican bills that previously failed to pass. When Democrat legislators left for DC in an attempt to prevent Republican voters from passing the election bill, Republican voters called for a vote to have the absentee legislators arrested. However, Texas law enforcement officers lacked jurisdiction beyond state lines.

Several organizations are expected to challenge the constitutional validity of the new election law. MOVE Texas, a nonprofit organization that seeks to increase participation in elections, claims that “[a]nti-voter lawmakers are trying to prevent the rising Texas electorate from exercising their fundamental right to vote.” The organization warns that SB 1 “is a dangerous, anti-democratic attack” on voting rights.