Thread by @TexasTribune

Thread: Two days after House Democrats blocked Texas' elections overhaul bill, Republicans are walking back a controversial provision affecting Sunday early voting hours that was criticized for the impact it could have on Black churchgoers. #TXlege bit.ly/2RTNW8H

2/ In the final version of Senate Bill 7, negotiated behind closed doors, the elections bill contained a key change that set a new window for early voting on Sundays, limiting it to 1 to 9 p.m. bit.ly/3pbeNch

3/ Democrats and voting rights advocates said GOP lawmakers were targeting get-out-the-vote efforts like "souls to the polls," the longtime practice by Black congregations that encourages members to go vote after Sunday morning services.

4/ Republicans are now claiming that the change was a typographical error and saying they plan to use a special legislative session on the bill to correct the proposal.

5/ In an interview Tuesday with @NPR, one of the negotiators, Rep. Travis Clardy of Nacogdoches, said the 1 p.m. start time was an error and that it should have been 11 a.m.

https://twitter.com/benswasey/status/1399743089057701890?s=20

6/ After Clardy's interview with NPR, another GOP negotiator and the bill's House sponsor, Rep. Briscoe Cain of Deer Park, said what Clardy said was "true" and that they intended to fix the start time in a special session.

7/ Despite Clardy’s claim, no Republicans raised an issue with the start time during final debate over the bill, and one of them even defended it.

SB 7's author, Sen. Bryan Hughes, stood by the start time under Democratic questioning Saturday night.

8/8 Lawmakers are set to revisit the legislation in a yet-to-be-called special session after Democrats staged a walkout late Sunday night that blocked passage of SB 7 in the regular session, which ended Monday. #TXlege bit.ly/3uGNVlC