Texas House hunkers down for late-night debate on GOP-backed elections bill

AUSTIN — The Texas House hunkered down Thursday evening for what was expected to be hours of emotional debate on one of the most contentious measures of the session, a GOP-backed elections bill that would empower partisan poll watchers, increase penalties for voting crimes and bar mass distribution of applications for mail-in ballots.

Discussion of the legislation did not kick off until early evening and was expected to stretch well into the night. Any vote was expected to fall strictly along party lines in the chamber, which has 83 Republicans and 67 Democrats.

Rep. Briscoe Cain, the bill’s author, said the legislation aims to protect voters and prevent future election crimes. He said it was not filed in response to the 2020 elections, which he conceded were free and fair.

“The purpose of this is to make them even more safe and secure,” said Cain, R-Deer Park. “We don’t have to wait for bad things to happen to try to protect and secure these elections.”

But Democrats, wearing personalized masks emblazoned with the words “GOOD TROUBLE,” peppered him with questions about the legislation’s true intent and purpose, raising questions about voter suppression and how the bill might have unequal negative effects on voters of color. Many of the questions laid the groundwork for litigation if the bill becomes law.

“It’s a straight-up assault on voting rights,” said Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie. “Key provisions of this bill will almost certainly be overturned by the courts.”

Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, made “election integrity” an emergency item this legislative session. GOP Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, have also prioritized the issue.

Democrats say the bills echo controversial voting laws recently passed in Georgia and Florida and represent a reaction to the huge voter turnout in November. Many of the bills’ specific provisions crack down on voting procedures that Harris County had planned to institute last year.

“It’s old Jim Crow, dressed up in what our colleagues are calling ‘election integrity,’” said Rep. Jessica González, a Dallas Democrat who serves as vice chair of the House Committee on Elections. “This is by far the worst piece of legislation that Texans have seen.”

The legislation would prohibit local election officials from barring or ejecting poll watchers, who work on behalf of candidates to observe elections, and would prohibit sending mail-in ballot applications to voters unless they request them.

It would also criminalize or increase penalties for having certain interactions with voters and their ballots for the purpose of influencing how they plan to vote; paying or offering to pay someone to help people vote; and intentionally miscounting or altering ballots.

Democrats warn that the legislation would discourage voter assistance, especially for elderly Texans or those with disabilities, and perpetuate a racist history in Texas that has dissuaded voters of color from exercising their rights.

Cain pushed back, stating, “I don’t believe this bill suppresses any votes.”

Democrats had drafted more than 100 amendments to the bill. After three hours of debate, the House had voted on one, which failed along partisan lines. A short time later, Rep. John Turner, D-Dallas, raised a point of order, a procedural tactic that temporarily halted debate with the hopes of killing the bill on a technicality.

Thursday night’s debate marked the second time this session Republican leaders discussed divisive voting legislation late into the night. In March, the Texas Senate passed another bill after an hours-long overnight debate.

The Senate bill includes stricter penalties than the House’s version. Last week, Cain advanced that legislation through the Elections Committee after swapping it out in its entirety for the House bill. The changes would have to be approved by the Senate, or the differences hashed out in a conference committee, before the bill could advance to Abbott’s desk.