Spencer Finley

Staff Writer

sjf5814@psu.edu

On September 7th, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a controversial new piece of election legislation into law. The bill, Senate Bill 1, has been a point of controversy in Texas for quite some time, with Democrats attempting to block the passage of the legislation since May 2021, when they walked out of the Texas State Senate Chamber in order to deny the Republican senate members the majority the necessary to muster a quorum, meaning that there were not enough members of the legislature present to do business, to pass what was then known as Senate Bill 7.

After this bill was thwarted, state senate Republicans introduced the current legislation, which contains many similar provisions. Democrats walked out of the legislature again on July 19th, but their strategy was less successful the second time. The move to deny the state senate majority a quorum was ultimately thwarted, as enough Democrats returned to Austin to allow for the establishment of a quorum.

Despite the walkout’s failure as a blocking strategy, it ultimately moderated the legislation; according to an article published by NPR, provisions which would have stopped voting on Sundays, a practice which many black voters in Texas have adopted, were eliminated. Additionally, a provision which would have allowed election judges in Texas to overturn elections based on suspicion of the presence of fraud, not concrete evidence, was eliminated as a result of the walkout. Republican proponents of the legislation claim that it will improve election security.

“Senate Bill 1 will solidify trust and confidence in the outcome of our elections by making it easier to vote and harder to cheat,” Governor Abbott said of the new legislation. It is stated in Senate Bill 1 that its purpose is “Election integrity and security, including by preventing fraud in the conduct of elections in this state; increasing criminal penalties; creating criminal offenses; providing civil penalties.”

It includes several provisions to this effect, including adding increased requirements for mail-in ballots; the law states, for example, that “An application must be submitted in writing and signed by the applicant using ink on paper. An electronic signature or photocopied signature is not permitted.”

This essentially means that any application to vote by mail must be submitted by mail or in-person, with electronic means of submission being eliminated. The law also grants poll watchers new powers, including the ability to oversee the inspection of mail-in ballots. 

Texas Democrats and several experts, however, see the legislation as a partisan power play and as unfairly targeting poor and minority voters. For example, in an interview referenced in an article published by NPR on September 7th, James Slattery, a Senior Staff Civil Rights Attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project, said “And so you can consider the bans on those forms of voting to be a direct attack on voters of color in particular,” when referencing bans on drive-through voting and greater restrictions on voting hours that.

Additionally, there are increased administrative requirements for people who assist others voting by mail, as well as increased penalties for those who fail to meet the new guidelines. Many people are questioning the intent behind the legislation.

The Republican party’s introduction of new “election integrity” laws in numerous states across the country have come as former president Donald Trump and his supporters claim that the 2020 election was stolen, and that mail-in ballots contributed to the decreased security of the election. However, experts including former Attorney General Bill Barr, Secretaries of State in various states, state supreme courts, and other local election officials have said that the 2020 election was the most secure election in U.S. history.