Democrats turn to Congress in fight against Texas Republicans’ voting bill
With a special session on the horizon, some Texas Democrats are looking to Congress to pass legislation that expands access to the polls.
Gov. Greg Abbott has vowed to call Texas lawmakers back to Austin to revitalize an election bill defeated by Texas Democrats after a 11th-hour walkout. The proposal would have banned 24-hour and drive-thru voting, offered protections for partisan poll watchers and created election-related criminal offenses.
In short, the legislation would have made voting harder, not easier, opponents say.
Among those to publicly criticize bill was President Joe Biden, who called the bill part of an “assault on democracy” seen in other states like Georgia and Florida. In condemning Senate Bill 7, he offered a charge for Congress: Pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
“I continue to call on all Americans, of every party and persuasion, to stand up for our democracy and protect the right to vote and the integrity of our elections,” he said in a May 29 statement.
Abbott has said the Texas Legislature will return and pass “election integrity” legislation as Democrats promise to fight in the looming special session. Nationally, Biden has appealed for Congress to do something about making voting more accessible and called on voting rights groups to bolster their efforts to register and educate voters.
The debates are playing out on two fronts, but they are linked, experts say. And as discourse continues, Democrats in the state Legislature are pleading for Congress do something.
“At a minimum, (the walkout) will spark continuation of the national conversation about the erosion of Democratic rights and concerns about the ease of voting,” said University of Houston Political Science Professor Brandon Rottinghaus. “At the most, it’ll lead to additional legislation being filed and some air cover for Democrats to push harder on those issues.”
‘The walkout has even reached the White House’
A recent speech by Biden stood out to Texas NAACP President Gary Bledsoe. Biden was in Tulsa to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, when hundreds were killed when a white mob targeted Black residents.
Biden spoke directly about the need for federal voting access legislation and promised to “fight like heck” for its passage. Biden said he thought progress was made after after the passage of the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act.
“I didn’t realize hate is never defeated; it only hides.,” Biden said. “And given a little bit of oxygen — just a little bit oxygen by its leaders — it comes out of there from under the rock like it was happening again, as if it never went away. … We can’t — we must not give hate a safe harbor.”
For Bledsoe, Biden’s remarks were welcomed.
“I have seen President Biden’s commentary in reverence to this, kind of, step up a little bit since the walkout,” he said. “So, it appears to me that the walkout has even reached the White House.”
The U.S. Senate is expected to debate the For the People Act later this month, but likely won’t get the votes needed to pass the chamber. Two Democrats — Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin — have said they oppose ending the Senate’s filibuster rule, which would make it easier for the bill to pass. Manchin has also said he doesn’t support the bill.
The legislation looks to expand voter rights, reduce the influence of money in politics, create new officeholder ethics rules and limit gerrymandering. A downfall for the bill may be its broadness, said SMU Political Science Professor Cal Jillson. Traditionally Congress has left the conduct of elections up to the states, but the proposed bill takes substantial control from the states, he said.
“I think that there’s a dynamic in both the state legislatures, including Texas, and in Congress, and that is that the partisan juices begin to flow and the result is that you get a bill that’s more partisan than it reasonably should be,” Jillson said.
U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, a Fort Worth Republican, shared concerns about the legislation’s “sweeping agenda” in a statement after the House vote on the bill. Granger also said she objected to the federal government telling states how to run elections. She was not available for an interview. Texas Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn were also not made available for comment.
“This bill is nothing but a political power grab by Democrats to help their party centralize power in Washington and win more elections,” Granger said after the House passed the For the People Act in March.
The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act passed out of the House during the last session of Congress but ultimately failed and it hasn’t been filed this session. The legislation creates criteria for determining which states must get approval from the Justice Department before changing voting practices.
U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, a Fort Worth Democrat, called on Congress to “match the boldness and bravery shown by the Texas House Democrats in defense of our democracy,” in a statement to the Star-Telegram. Veasey was not available for an interview.
“We must use every tool available to ensure swift passage of the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act so that we can protect the right to vote for all Americans — especially minority communities that have been targeted by racially discriminatory voter suppression bills like Texas Senate Bill 7,” he said.
As a federal response continues to be debated, Texans are waiting to see what’s in store for the coming special session. Abbott disputed Biden’s position that Senate Bill 7 would have limited voting access in an interview with the Star-Telegram.
“It doesn’t restrict voting at all,” Abbott said. “All it does is restrict cheating in voting.”
There’s been no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Asked about the impact Texas’ bill could have on Congress, Abbott maintained the legislation doesn’t have the votes to pass.
“I think as far as the Democrats are concerned, they were already there, and they already wanted to do it,” Abbott said. “And they simply don’t have the votes in the U.S. Senate.”
What’s in store for Texas’ special session
Texas Lawmakers are expected to head back to Austin for at least two special sessions to address several issues, including legislation like Senate Bill 7. Abbott confirmed on Lubbock radio station KFYO that the election-related legislation would be brought up ahead of a special session in September or October for redistricting and the allocation of federal COVID-19 relief dollars.
“I consider this halftime of this game, knowing that we’re going to be able to come back for at least two special sessions and able to engage once again on all these meaningful issues,” Abbott said on the “The Chad Hasty Show” last week. “And so we just didn’t get it done in the first half, but we look forward to getting it done in the second half.”
In an interview with the Star-Telegram, Abbott said he generally supported Senate Bill 7 as is, but he is open to “whatever deal can be struck between the House and Senate..” He stressed the need for set hours for polling places can and maintained polling hours are not being reduced. The bill would effectively ban 24-hour polling places like those used in Harris County amid the pandemic.
“The reason why there would be set time limits is to achieve another goal, and that’s to make sure we will have poll watchers available whenever voting is taking place,” he said. “Candidly, it’s kind of harder to get people to be a poll watcher at 2, or 3 or 4 a.m. or something like that.”
One of the most criticized provisions was a conference committee addition that barred polling places from opening before 1 p.m. on the last Sunday of early voting. The measure would have negatively affected “souls to the polls” events held by Black congregations that encourage voters to go to the polls after church, opponents said.
Since the session ended, some Republicans on the conference committee have said the time was an error, and that 1 p.m. should have been 11 a.m., according to the Texas Tribune.
“If it’s a mistake, that’s new to me, because I specifically mentioned it to the conferees that I met with, and they did not make any comment that they were going to change it or it was wrong,” said State Rep. Nicole Collier, a Fort Worth Democrat who was on the committee.
House Speaker Dade Phelan advocated for a more piecemeal approach to the election legislation in an interview with Spectrum News, suggesting single bills rather than on omnibus one.
“It’s important that we make sure that all of these different pieces are included,” Abbott said. “What I don’t know is, what is the easier way to get it done.”
As Texas waits to see the next iteration of the election bill, Democrats are calling on Congress to pass its own legislation increasing access to the polls.
Ultimately, it will take federal legislation to stop bills like Senate Bill 7, said state Rep. Chris Turner, a Grand Prairie Democrat. Collier recognized the appetite may not be there in Congress to pass the For The People Act as written, but federal legislation could provide oversight and offer protections for Texans, she said.
“People think this is politics,” Bledsoe, the Texas NAACP president, said. “They think this is regular Democrats versus Republicans, and it’s not. This is about democracy versus something different.”
This story was originally published June 8, 2021 at 5:30 AM.
