For a democracy to work, it must include all voices. Texans recently woke up to new efforts of voter suppression because the Governor signed one of the most egregious voter suppression bills into law. Not only is SB1 unconstitutional, but it also violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Voting Rights Act. This bill is a direct attack on American democratic values and principles that we have had for over 200 years.
The bill claims to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat, but how does banning drive-thru and 24-hour voting make it easier to vote? How does prohibiting outdoor voting make it easier to vote? This bill adds hurdles that disproportionately impact disenfranchised communities across the state and it restricts needed assistance for Texans with disabilities & older voters. It criminalizes the distribution of vote-by-mail applications and limits early voting hours. How does all of this make it easier to vote?
On August 28, 2021, on the 58th anniversary that Dr. Martin Luther King led the March on Washington, we marched on for voting rights all across the country. Now, the state of Texas is being sued by the ACLU, League of Women Voters, the Texas Civil Rights Project, and numerous other organizations and unions for suppressing the right to vote.
We need federal action to protect this right. The passage of The For The People Act (S.1) and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (H.R.4) is essential to combat the unprecedented wave of these voter suppression laws. As my representative, I am asking you to support this federal action.
