Voters in the Lone Star state will soon have to adhere to new voting measures. But that’s a good thing.
This new law is one that will make it easier for them to cast ballots thanks to the passing of Senate Bill 1, which is better known as the Texas Election Integrity Bill.
Governor Greg Abbott is widely expected to sign the bill and enact it this year.
Senate Bill 1 was the main reason Democratic lawmakers from Texas left the State House and camped in the District of Columbia earlier this year; this was a dramatic effort to prevent certain bills from getting the required number of votes to pass. In the end, some Democrats broke ranks and returned to Austin so that legislative business could resume with a minimum quorum.
Once the last is enacted and administrative rules are set, voters in Texas will be subject to ID verification when casting mail-in ballots. Poll watchers and inspectors will be granted greater access to observe the election process regardless of their party affiliation.
Finally, local election officials could face felony charges if they insist on promoting and facilitating mail-ballots to Texans who would otherwise be able to head to the polls and cast their ballots. Dubious voting by mail was a major point of contention in the 2020 presidential election.
This is part of what the Democrats who went AWOL threw a hissy fit about and left the state for. Obviously, their little game didn’t actually do anything except get warrants issued for their arrests. That of course had them all come back and do their job.
All governors could stand to learn a thing or two from Gov. Abbott because this is one thing that will provide an additional layer of protection to our voting process to help ensure true integrity.
55 comments