This story has been updated throughout.
Where things stand (5/19)
For those who want to expand the opportunity for eligible Texans to vote, near victory was in the air Sunday night. A bill, SB 9 —deemed an attempt at voter suppression —died in the Texas House. But on Monday the language from that bill was resurrected in another piece of legislation.
“Our concerns have been validated, sadly,” the Texas Civil Rights Project tweeted. “An amendment was added to #HB2911 that includes language from the anti-voter #SB9, making it riskier for people to register to vote.”
SB 9 would have made it more difficult to cast a vote in Texas – especially for those with a disability and in communities of color. The bill called for criminal penalties for those who make an innocent mistake on a ballot.
The Big Picture
Republicans have been successful in their echo chamber, convincing large majorities of their party and a solid majority of independents of two things.
One, illegal voting happens “frequently.”
Two, the election system discriminated against ethnic and racial minorities
Democrats have not been successful in conveying the realities of voting in Texas. The “all these illegals are voting” narrative has spread like wildfire. It’s manufactured – another ‘solution’ in search of a problem. Illegal voting is rare and the so-called voter purge by state officials — as just one example — undermine public sentiments around discrimination.
