The final version of #SB7 keeps horrible provisions from the House and the Senate versions and adds a whole host of new, egregious suppression measures.

The lack of transparency in this conference committee process was equally as egregious. #txlege
“Show me your papers” to Curbside Vote:
Requires drivers of three or more voters to fill out onerous new forms
Driver and all other passengers must exit the vehicle unless assisting voter, no matter the weather or other conditions, while a poll watcher could enter the vehicle.
Requires voter ID for mail ballot applications and mail ballot envelopes AND requires voter ID number on voter reg app must match number on VBM app (example: if you use SSN # on voter reg app and DL on mail ballot app--mail ballot app must be rejected by county).
If voter misses spot to put info on already crowded carrier envelope, ballot automatically rejected.
No drive-thru early voting, which was used disproportionately by voters of color.
No extended hours early voting, which was used disproportionately by voters of color.
New requirement that Secretary of State must oversee every county’s voter rolls and if determines that number of registered voters exceeds number of eligible voters, then increasing enforcement including civil penalties.
Watchers may harass election workers and counties with the threat of litigation if they don’t get their way. If the watcher believes they have been “unlawfully prevented or obstructed from the performance of duties,” they can seek “any other remedy available under law.”
Imposes a higher standard to be eligible for voting by mail on the ground of disability. Imposes impossible new standard for election workers to reconcile votes by end of election day.
Lowers the standard in an election contest to make it easier for judges to overturn elections
Removes good house amendment and re-criminalizes unintentional mistakes in rejecting/accepting ballots.

Removes good house amendments which: allowed for curing mail ballot signatures; mail ballot tracking; improving high school voter registration.
Increases criminal penalties from the house version -- reverting to state jail felonies for election officials, and third degree felonies for the new poorly defined/overbroad “vote harvesting services” crime.

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More from @TXCivilRights

26 May
3 years ago this week, our South Texas team walked into a Federal courtroom where our government separated families through a violent border-wide policy. “Will I see my children again?” asked hundreds.

But family separation was not just a Trump practice. It continues today.
Policies like Title-42, i.e. the forced expulsion of hundreds of thousands of immigrants under the guise of a healthcare law, continue under @JoeBiden. T-42 and toxic @DHSgov practices continue to separate families at the border- our team sees it daily.
Because #FamiliesBelongTogether, we have never stopped fighting separations and continue to reunify families at the border. Even in this administration we have reunified children with their expelled parents, and do so daily for those separated across borders by T-42 expulsions.
Read 6 tweets
7 May
UPDATE: just before 4:00am this morning, the Texas House voted 81-64 to advance a version of #SB7. Here's a great rundown of where things stand from the @TexasTribune (1/4)
texastribune.org/2021/05/07/tex…
The final bill appears to be quite different than what we started the night with. It is still NOT available to the public and likely won't be until this afternoon after another procedural vote. It will then head to the Senate, presumably to a conference committee. (2/4) #txlege
This conference committee is worthy of concern. Behind closed doors, lawmakers will be able to pick & choose provisions from both versions of voter omnibus bills: the mystery version the House passed this morning, & the mega voter suppression package the Senate passed last month
Read 4 tweets
6 May
🚨 HAPPENING NOW🚨

The TX House is beginning debate over voter suppression bill #SB7 — an attack on the state’s most vulnerable voting communities, and companion to #HB6. Watch live now: tlchouse.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.ph…

Need a refresher on #SB7 and #HB6? We got you covered👇
Listening to @jessicafortexas force @BriscoeCain to admit that he simply doesn't believe voters of color, voters with disabilities, and young voters when they say that #SB7 would suppress their votes.

We're experiencing secondhand embarrassment for Rep. Cain as he defends SB7.
Now Chairman Cain is telling @RafaelAnchia that he apparently has no knowledge of the history or details of discrimination against Black Texans by the Texas legislature with regards to voting rights. There's been litigation over this throughout the past decade. #SB7
Read 14 tweets
21 Apr
The supporters of #HB6 and #SB7 challenged people to “read the bills and point to voter suppression.”

Today, 63 civil rights orgs have gladly accepted that challenge & are releasing two joint statements outlining some of the sections that would harm voters the most #txlege
We come from all walks of life in Texas: rural & urban, young and elderly, people of color, voters w/ disabilities, working Texans & those experiencing poverty, and people of faith & those who are secular. We stand united against the voter suppression that these bills represent.
Grassroots organizations, businesses, and others are calling #SB7 and #HB6 voter suppression bills because that’s exactly what they are: bills that would make it harder and scarier to vote. #txlege
Read 6 tweets
14 Apr
SB 23 is not alone. There's a slate of bills at the #txlege that would punish cities for ANY REDUCTION in police budgets, or any reallocation of funds from law enforcement to other community programs/budget areas. See bills here: txcivilrights.org/bills-that-pun…

statesman.com/story/news/202…
Some of these bills since their initial filing have been replaced in committee with versions that include
exceptions for cities making across-the-board cuts or reductions following disaster declarations, but....
...these attempts to mitigate the draconian consequences of these bills do not go nearly far enough to protect reasonable and necessary local decision-making: txcivilrights.org/bills-that-pun…
Read 4 tweets
13 Apr
This morning in Texas, the @JoeBiden Administration seized the property of the Cavazos family for #borderwall construction, after being granted possession via court order. We are outraged. This outcome was avoidable had the administration simply dismissed the case outright. (1/4)
TCRP represents the Cavazos family in this litigation and we hope to have a full statement on this horrible decision soon. DOJ must immediately reverse course and return all seized lands to the communities from where they came. (2/4) #NotAnotherFoot
This decision by the administration will not in any way “build back better” and breaks @POTUS's promise to dismiss all border wall cases. Stay tuned as we work with the Cavazos family to share their story and this devastating outcome that must be immediately reversed. (3/4)
Read 5 tweets

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