Okay, both Dade Phelan and Dan Patrick invited us to point to places in #HB6/#SB7 where there is voter suppression.
So here's a thread of me doing that in SB7.
First, the restriction on 24-hour voting:
Second, the vote-by-mail gag rule:
Third, the free reign of poll watchers:
Fourth, the poll-watcher-as-filmmaker:
Fifth, the new form for voter assistants:
Sixth, the new formula for polling places (but only in counties with lot of BIPOC):
Seventh, restrictions on drive-thru voting:
Eighth, also restrictions on drive-thru voting!
Ninth, rule against donations to help run elections:
Tenth, the new fine for registrars:
Eleventh, making SURE that no one is voting conveniently:
Twelfth, this one's for the indicted AG:
See Dade and Dan? I can point to voter suppression in these bills. See Briscoe? I have read them! What's the next talking point on your list?
Adding these images again down here with image descriptions! Thank you to @s_m_i and @regmack_ for reminding me to do it and teaching me how 💕 Pics 1, 2, 3, and 4:
Pics 5, 6, 7, and 8:
And pics 9, 10, 11, and 12:
I wasn't going to do HB6. Really, I wasn't. A lot of it is the same as SB7! But then the author of HB6 was rude to me on Twitter, so...
Here's me pointing to voter suppression in HB6.
First, the "justification" for the whole bill:
Second, making election workers criminals if they try to help voters:
Third, making regular humans criminals if they try to help voters:
Fourth, making it a crime to -have watchers removed- by... anyone:
Fifth, your classic* vote-by-mail gag rule:
Sixth, making it harder for voters to bring in assistants:
Seventh, not even a High School Musical jump can liven up the danger of poll watchers run amok:
Eighth, idk if y'all heard this but apparently all Texas counties are the same:
You may be confused when you try to look up HB6 and what I've pointed out is slightly different from what you can find online. That's because I'm screenshotting the current version of the bill, which is... somehow not available online yet?
Also, there is a solid chance that the bill author jumps on Twitter to say that I'm lying to you about what is in this bill. Maybe his reading is different. But if I can read it this way, a court can too, and interpretation is ten-tenths of the law.
In conclusion, DON'T BE RUDE TO ME ON TWITTER DOT COM
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
The TX voter suppression bill became law on December 2, 2021. How will your 2022 voting experience look different because of it? Let's do a thread. 🧵
Think of voting in Texas as a board game. The rules are that you have to draw a bunch of challenge cards at every single space, and if you make it to the end, you get to have a say in your democracy. SB1 was an expansion pack, featuring a bunch of new challenge cards. Let's play!
Here's the bill itself. You've heard it called HB6/SB7, then it was SB1, then it was SB1 again. Now it's just the voter suppression law. capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/872/bi…
Okay, as we prepare to embark upon a new special session (sigh), I wanna rant about two of my frustrations that came up in the last one. I call them the Zero Fallacy and the Jesus Monopoly.
On July 10, there was a 14-hour Senate hearing on SB 1, the voter suppression bill. I testified in hour 12, but I watched the whole thing.
At one point, Sen. Nelson decided to pull from the Heritage Playbook and ask this question. This question is mind-numbingly stupid, and they ask it all the time.
The thing about this graphic is that it's SUPER misleading. Let's fill it in, but make it fun with: Marvel Heroes Who'd Lose The Right to Vote Under HB3, a thread.
Half-truth: HB3 adds voting time.
Whole truth: HB3 restricts early voting time to between 6AM to 10PM. Counties MAY expand time, but only as early as 6 or as late as 10. 14 hours is less than 24.
This is Natasha. Natasha works long hours and late nights. Under HB3, she won't be able to vote on her way home from a job at midnight, or before she clocks in to bust bad guys at 5AM. No vote for Black Widow.