Texas Senate passes sweeping voting restrictions bill

The GOP-controlled Texas state Senate on Sunday passed a sweeping voting restrictions bill that has been lambasted by critics who say it will disproportionately impact low-income and minority communities.

As CBS News reported, the bill has been sent to the Texas House of Representatives. If the legislation is passed by the House, where the GOP currently holds a 83-67 majority, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is likely to sign it.

The bill would ban drive-thru voting and would impose state felony penalties on public officials who offer mail-in voting applications to voters who do not request them. It would also ban 24-hour voting, which was used by more than 100,000 voters in the 2020 election in Harris County, where President Biden won around 56 percent of the vote.

The bill would also allow courts to overturn elections if “the number of votes illegally cast in the election is equal to or greater than the number of votes necessary to change the outcome of an election,” rather than having to confirm evidence of election fraud.

Biden has condemned the bill as an attack on the “sacred right to vote.”

“Today, Texas legislators put forth a bill that joins Georgia and Florida in advancing a state law that attacks the sacred right to vote. It’s part of an assault on democracy that we’ve seen far too often this year—and often disproportionately targeting Black and Brown Americans,” Biden said in a statement released on Saturday.

“It’s wrong and un-American. In the 21st century, we should be making it easier, not harder, for every eligible voter to vote,” Biden added.