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Republicans in Texas are at the forefront of a national effort to curtail the right to vote, with lawmakers targeting voters and policies that helped Democrats in the 2020 election.
Texas lawmakers have enacted 49 bills restricting access to votes, far more than any other state, even as large Texas-based companies such as American Airlines have expressed staunch opposition.
The sweeping provisions could deal an outsized blow to low-income residents, people with disabilities, city dwellers and Texans of color, many of whom belong to diverse, youthful cohorts whose political views pose problems for the GOP.
And, in a twist that sets Texas apart from other states like Georgia and Arizona that have or are planning voting restrictions, some proposals impose extreme penalties on people who commit even innocent missteps.
“Making a mistake on a voter registration filing is a second-degree crime equivalent to arson and aggravated kidnapping,” said Sarah Labowitz, director of policy and advocacy for the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas.
Conservative politicians have tried to justify the rollback by hiding behind Donald Trump’s claim that last year’s presidential game was stolen – despite a complete lack of evidence and though their party handily won in Texas.
Allegations of widespread voter fraud have become almost a “litmus test” among Texas Republicans, said Juan Carlos Huerta, a professor of political science at Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi.
Conservatives’ political future could depend on whether their base thinks they are cracking down on the non-issue. And as a new generation of voters matures, the deceptive talking point provides cover for politicians who can see their party’s prospects may be diminishing.
Although Republicans retained their iron grip on Texas last year, Trump’s profit margin in the presidential race fell to less than six points, from a nine-point lead four years earlier. Democrats also gained significant ground in the 2018 midterm elections, when former Representative Beto O’Rourke lost his senatorial bid to incumbent Ted Cruz by less than 215,000 votes.
The current state office-holders know they can’t get reelected for the issues alone, so they are moving the goalpost, said Claudia Yoli Ferla, executive director of civic engagement nonprofit Move Texas.
“These lawmakers see the writing on the wall and they fear the power of young people. They are afraid to express the true voices of our communities, ”said Yoli Ferla.
Texas is already submitting its residents to a Byzantine electoral system, earning it a reputation as the hardest place to vote in the US Voters cannot access same-day registration and can only register online if they update their driver’s license at the same time.
Then, at the polls, the hardline documentation requirements meet handgun licenses as a form of accepted identification, but not student IDs. Postal voting is so limited that last fall voters were forced to personally gather in long lines regardless of the coronavirus pandemic.
But despite Texas’s legacy of voter suppression, large, democratic counties – particularly Houston’s Harris County – came up with innovative approaches last year to expand access to the polls. For example, Harris County implemented 24-hour and drive-thru polling stations, while the local election clerk attempted to mail each registered voter with a ballot paper.
Rather than praising those solutions, Republicans fought hard against them. Now state leaders are working to ensure that they are not an option for future elections.
“Whether it’s the unauthorized expansion of post-in ballots, or the unauthorized expansion of drive-thru votes, we must pass laws to prevent election officials from jeopardizing the electoral process,” said Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
In February, while Trump’s national defeat was still fresh, Abbott designated so-called “election integrity” as one of the five emergency posts for the legislature. Late last month, Texas led the indictment of a total of 47 states that passed 361 bills restricting the vote, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
One Texas bill would abolish drive-through polling stations, allow Partisan viewers to record voters electronically, and set limits on early voting hours.
Another could consolidate voter registration responsibilities under the Secretary of State and sideline local governments.
Yet another would dangle allegations of crime over basic activities, such as officials proactively distributing voting requests by mail.
Texas is already known for criminalizing the ballot box, especially among colored communities. According to current state attorney general Ken Paxton, according to the Texas ACLU, at least 72% of prosecutions by the so-called Election Integrity Unit are against residents of Black and Latino.
Those harsh penalties create confusion and can have chilling consequences for potential voters. In the Brownsville border community, people fear they won’t be able to legally vote for reasons that shouldn’t be disqualifying, such as their family’s immigration status, said Ofelia Alonso, a regional field manager for youth organizers at Texas Rising Action.
“It’s already such a hostile environment for people who want to participate in the process, but these restrictions would make it even more difficult,” Alonso said.
Ironically, the proposed reforms could inadvertently affect seniors, who are among the few demographics eligible to vote by mail and whose bloc tendencies are correct.
As the Texas legislative session progresses, voting advocates and experts are particularly concerned about two restrictive omnibus laws, SB7 and HB6. Both are already making progress through the legislature.
“It’s kind of hard to have a strategy on how to go about this,” said Alonso, “when we know that the majority of Republicans in the Texas legislature are very shameless.”
Unlike Georgia, where the backlash from companies like Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines came back retrospectively, the Texas bills have already become a lightning rod.
“Free, fair, and equitable access to votes is the foundation of American democracy,” Michael Dell, CEO of Dell Technologies, tweeted in early April. “Those rights – especially for women, communities of color – are hard earned.
“Governments must ensure that citizens make their voices heard. HB6 does the opposite, and we are against it. “
American Airlines similarly came out against SB7, saying the company is “strongly opposed to this bill and similar others.”
But encouraged by the 2020 victory, the state’s conservatives don’t seem to care. When corporate giants denounced the bills for being anti-democratic, Abbott simply warned them to “stay out of politics.”
“Their priority is to stay in power by whatever means necessary,” said Alonso. And election fraud is a great way to instill fear to stir up their base and not have to come out and say what they’re doing are Jim Crow tactics.
“They won’t say it, but we know what it is.”