Texas Governor Greg Abbott is none too pleased that Democrats have succeeded in temporarily blocking one of the most restricting voting bills in the country, dreamed up by members of the Texas GOP.
, making it so that the state legislature didn’t have enough members to hold a vote. The last-minute protest forced Republicans to miss their deadline, since the Texas legislative session ends on May 31.
“I declared Election Integrity and Bail Reform to be must-pass emergency items for this legislative session,” Abbottreleased just before midnight on Sunday. “It is deeply disappointing and concerning for Texans hat neither will reach my desk.” Yes, how deeply disappointing, to not be able to systematically strip Texans of their voting rights. Among many other restrictions, the wide-reaching legislation contained measures to eliminate drive-through voting and 24-hour polling centers; further limit absentee voting; and change the hours of Sunday voting, a move that targets Black churchgoers.
The Sunday-night walkout was a last-ditch effort to delay the bill, which was widely expected to pass with little difficulty: Republicans in the House, where the bill was being debated, outnumber Democrats 83 to 67. Ahead of the walkout, Texas state Rep. Chris Turner his Democratic colleagues with instructions: “Members take your key and leave the chamber discretely. Do not go to the gallery. Leave the building.”
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