Thread by @TXCivilRights

THREAD 🧵👇🏽: Yesterday, @TXCivilRights attorneys testified against the voter suppression omnibus bill, #SB7. We flagged the inevitable discriminatory impact SB7 would have on already-marginalized Texans. #txlege

What you didn't see during verbal testimony were the three charts attached to our written testimony with demographic breakdowns on who used the two new voting options offered by @HarrisVotes in 2020: extended hours & drive thru voting. We’d like to share this data here.

Limiting voting hours (like 24 hour voting) and flexibility in polling locations (like drive thru voting) as SB7 seeks to do would disproportionately harm communities of color, who tend to have less flexible work schedules, by significant margins. See the graphs below 👇🏽

Estimated demographics of Harris County EXTENDED HOURS voters. As you can see, 56% of voters who voted during late-night hours were Black, Hispanic, or Asian.

Source: Harris County Early Voting Rosters; Targetsmart for race/ethnicity modeling.

Estimated demographics of Harris County DRIVE-THRU voters. As you can see, 53% of voters who used drive thru voting were Black, Hispanic, or Asian.

Source: Harris County Early Voting Rosters; Targetsmart for race/ethnicity modeling.

For full context, here are the demographics of ALL Harris County early voters.

Source: Harris County Early Voting Rosters; Targetsmart for race/ethnicity modeling.

Our TX Secretary of State admitted that 1) limiting voting hours doesn't make elections more secure, & 2) neither does getting rid of drive-thru voting. Data proves these options offered by @HarrisVotes were popular with voters AND made voting more accessible for everyone #txlege