Texas Republicans' sweeping voting restrictions bill passes state Senate
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-votin...ll-republicans/
By Grace Segers
Updated on: May 30, 2021 / 9:52 AM / CBS News

Texas' Republican-led state Senate passed a sweeping voting restrictions bill early Sunday and sent it to the state's House. The legislation was unveiled Saturday amid efforts by GOP-led states to overhaul election laws in the wake of former President Trump's electoral loss.

The bill, S.B. 7, includes several controversial provisions that critics say would disproportionately affect poor and minority voters. It also specifically targets voting practices employed this past year in Harris County, which includes Houston, by banning drive-through voting and 24-hour voting. Those practices were used by 140,000 voters in 2020.

S.B. 7 makes it a state jail felony for local officials to attempt to send mail-in ballot applications to voters who did not request them, a practice Harris County employed in 2020. The bill also limits early voting and implements more restrictions on absentee voting, including adding more identification requirements for those who wish to vote-by-mail.

President Biden condemned the bill in a statement, calling it "part of an assault on democracy that we've seen far too often this year—and often disproportionately targeting Black and Brown Americans."-- excerpt, rest at link above --

Breakdown of the Final Texas ‘Election Integrity Protection Act of 2021’
https://thetexan.news/breakdown-of-the-f...+-+RSS+Campaign
The Texas omnibus election bill has sparked intense partisan debate. Here’s what’s in the final version of the legislation.
Daniel Friend



Voting signs in Austin. (The Texan/Daniel Friend)


House and Senate Republicans agreed on a final version of the omnibus election integrity bill, Senate Bill (SB) 7, the day before Texas lawmakers face a deadline to pass bills for the regular legislative session.

Titled the “Election Integrity Protection Act of 2021,” the centerpiece GOP legislation is the result of negotiations between Senate Republicans with their SB 7 as originally filed by Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) and Republicans in the lower chamber with House Bill (HB) 6, a similar omnibus election bill filed by Rep. Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park).

The legislation still needs the final approval of both the House and Senate, but is expected to receive pushback from Democrats who have labeled SB 7 as “the new Jim Crow Voter Suppression Laws for Texas.”

However, in a joint press release from Hughes and Cain, the Republicans repeated what they have said about their election bills all along: “The bill protects the Texas ballot box by making it easy to vote and hard to cheat.”-- excerpt, rest at link above --

Election Integrity Bill Fails After House Democrats Walk Out, Abbott Vows It Will Return in Special Session
The Republicans’ election security bill went down in flames after Democrats walked out of the House as it was being considered.
https://thetexan.news/election-integrity...+-+RSS+Campaign
Hayden Sparks


From left to right: Sen. Bryan Hughes (The Texan/Ben Billups), the "Stop the Steal" Rally in Austin, January 2021 (The Texan/Daniel Friend), and Rep. Briscoe Cain (The Texan/Brad Johnson).


The stakes could not have been higher on Sunday for the Republicans’ keystone elections bill, and months of controversy over the outcome of the presidential election culminated with Democrats walking out of the House chamber and leaving Chairman Briscoe Cain’s (R-Deer Park) bill to be thrown in the trash.

An objection to a motion to excuse Rep. Joe Moody (D-El Paso) from the House floor failed by vote of 86 to zero due to a lack of a quorum, as almost all Democrats had left the floor.

“[SB 7] was not a response to the [Big Lie]; the Big Lie was an excuse for SB 7. It takes us down the road towards sham elections — [fascism] disguised a democracy,” Moody wrote on Twitter after the bill was lost. “SB 7 is now dead because of the rules, and a society where truth and rules matter is what I’ll always fight for.”

Shortly after Rep. Charlie Geren (R-Fort Worth) raised a point of order that there was no quorum in the Texas House, which Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) sustained-- excerpt, rest at link above --

Yes, but, see: Texas Legislature Adjourns Sine Die on Memorial Day After Abbott Balks at Calls for Special Session

Texas governor Greg Abbott threatens to withhold pay of Democrats who walked out
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/202...s=1622501969449
By Victor Morton - The Washington Times - Monday, May 31, 2021

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott threatened the pay of Democratic lawmakers who walked out of the legislature to prevent a vote on an election-security measure.

The Republican-led General Assembly was poised Sunday night to pass a bill that Democrats are calling a racist attempt to smash the minority vote, but the party walked out of the chamber en masse, denying the quorum needed to vote on the bill.

No work, no pay, Mr. Abbott replied Monday.

“I will veto Article 10 of the budget passed by the legislature. Article 10 funds the legislative branch. No pay for those who abandon their responsibilities. Stay tuned,” he wrote on Twitter.

I will veto Article 10 of the budget passed by the legislature.

Article 10 funds the legislative branch.

No pay for those who abandon their responsibilities.

Stay tuned.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) May 31, 2021-- excerpt, rest at link above --