Over the weekend, a video that went viral on Twitter showed Texas Republicans admitting on camera that the voter suppression legislation being pushed is to in fact suppress voters in Democratic counties and keep Texas red.
Creator of the Undercurrent TV, Lauren Windsor walked into the Austin Capitol wearing “Make America Great Again” merchandise and was quickly assured by representatives that Texas would not become the next Georgia.
Rep. Matt Krause (TX-93) said the voter suppression bills are in direct response to Harris County expanding voting options amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“They made all these changes to the election code during covid which just invites fraud, invites cheating,” Krause said. “So that’s what we’ve got to focus on is all these people who are just trying to do whatever they want to, to the election code. Which allows for things like Georgia and other places to happen and we can’t allow that to happen.”
Additionally, Rep. Justin Holland (TX-33) said with this new legislation Democratic seats in the House and Senate will completely “erode” next election.
“They’re gonna lose seats,” Holland said. “They’re not gonna gain seats next time. They’re not gonna take over. So we’re going to make sure we come back with more Republicans next time.”
Rep. Cole Hefner (TX-5) said he’s doing everything he can to keep Texas a red state.
“I live in a real red district, but you know I try not to get primaried so that I can help people that are in those close districts to try to keep this redder and redder,” Hefner said.
In another video, Rep. Steve Toth said Democrats are setting up Republicans like My Pillow Guy Mike Lindell in a paper ballot voting scam.
“It’s always been paper and the Democrats now, are trying to create this conspiracy that it’s electronic so we’ll move back to paper,” Toth said. “They’re foisting this scam and the Republicans are buying into it.”
The Texas Legislature started the second special session on Saturday, Aug. 7 with Texas Democrats breaking quorum again to stop passage of voter suppression legislation.
In July, Texas Democrats left the state for Washington D.C. to push Congress to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Bill and the For the People Act.
Kennedy is a recent graduate of the University of St.Thomas in Houston where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Celt Independent. Kennedy brings her experience of writing about social justice issues to the Texas Signal where she serves as our Political Reporter. She does everything from covering crime beats, Texas politics, and community activism. Kennedy is a passionate reporter, avid reader, coffee enthusiast, and loves to travel.
