Texas House passes GOP-backed elections bill after marathon session

Republicans in the Texas House of Representatives moved a big step closer early Friday to making Texas the latest GOP-controlled state to pass sweeping election law changes.

After a marathon session that started Thursday evening, state House passed its bill Friday afternoon in a 78-64 vote. It will now go back to the state Senate where Republicans could either vote on the version passed by the House, or the chambers will sort out their differences in a conference bill.

A couple of hours after debate on the bill began early Thursday evening, Democrats filed a procedural challenge that halted debate for hours. During the pause, lawmakers hashed out amendments to address some concerns raised by Democrats and voting rights organizations.

Before the vote Friday, Republican state Representative Briscoe Cain, the House Elections Committee chair, highlighted some of the revisions made overnight. He pointed out that some of the revisions were suggested by the NAACP of Texas and the Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities.

"Some of the amendments that went on yesterday were designed to clarify and ensure that people would not be punished for honest mistakes," Cain said. "This bill requires the election code to be applied uniformly and consistently statewide."

Despite the changes, Democrats and voting rights groups still criticized the bill and warned more changes could come as the bill advances.

"Although there were slight revisions — solely because of the willingness to fight from our Democratic lawmakers and pressure of Texas Rising and other voting rights groups — we do not know what is likely to stick when the bill goes through conference committee," Rae Martinez, senior director at Texas Rising Action, said in a statement. "SB 7 should have never seen the light of day. It is a terrible bill in every regard. There is no compromise to be made here. There is no reason for SB 7 to even be considered.".

The revisions lowered many of the initial criminal penalties imposed for voting errors. There are fewer penalties for people assisting voters or election judges who make mistakes doing their jobs. People assisting voters still need to sign a document under penalty of perjury that says, in part, "I did not pressure, encourage, coerce, or intimidate the voter into choosing me to provide assistance."

Lawmakers also added more checks on partisan poll watchers than the bill had when debate started. It makes it clear watchers can "observe without obstructing." Amendments were added to allow judges to call law enforcement if a poll watcher "commits a breach of the peace or violation of this code," and prohibits watchers from taking pictures of private information or ballots. Watchers who believe they had their performance "unlawfully obstructed" can seek relief in court.

The bill also bans early voting clerks from sending unsolicited mail ballot requests to voters. Texas has strict rules about who is allowed to vote-by-mail: a voter must be 65 years or older, disabled, out of the county on Election Day and early voting period or in jail but otherwise eligible. An amendment was added to require an online tracking system for mail ballots.

The bill, SB 7, will need one more vote in the state House before it goes back to the Senate. Republicans there could vote on the version passed by the House or the chambers will have to sort out their differences in conference before a final bill can land on Governor Greg Abbott's desk.

Abbott on Thursday tweeted his support for election reform efforts, saying "I made election integrity an emergency item this session to help ensure every eligible voter gets to vote & only eligible ballots are counted."

I made election integrity an emergency item this session to help ensure every eligible voter gets to vote & only eligible ballots are counted.Thank you to @BriscoeCain, @TeamBettencourt, @SenBryanHughes & the #txlege for working hard to protect free & fair elections in TX.

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) May 6, 2021