After heroically walking out of the Texas State Capitol Building and leaving the state to block passage of Texas Republicans’ latest anti-voter legislation, Texas House Democrats spent their first day in Washington calling on the Senate to move quickly to pass the For the People Act and protect voting rights.
“In the face of one of the nation’s most restrictive voting bills, Texas House Democrats are courageously doing everything they can to hold the line,” said End Citizens United // Let America Vote President Tiffany Muller. “However, as these brave leaders said today, anti-voting rights bills are advancing across the country. The Senate must listen to the pleas for help from those on the front lines of the fight for voting rights by passing the For the People Act into law.”
Texas’ latest anti-voter bill would eliminate 24-hour and drive-in voting, create new restrictions on absentee voting, make it harder for citizens to get information on how to vote, give more power to partisan poll watchers to intimidate voters, and enforce strict penalties on the patriotic Americans who tirelessly work to ensure our elections run smoothly. While Texas’ bill is a disgrace and an affront to the fundamental American right to vote, these attacks on voting rights are not exclusive to Texas. Nationwide, 389 bills have been introduced in 48 states that seek to limit the right to vote and restrict Americans’ access to the ballot box.
The national, dark-money-backed GOP assault on voting rights will not stop unless the Senate takes action. Self-serving Republican politicians will continue to capitalize on the Big Lie and push their restrictive voting measures. The Senate must pass this legislation and not allow procedure to stand in the way. As Texas Democrats have shown these past 24 hours, the stakes are simply too high for inaction.
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