Adding fuel to Texas voting bill fight, @CarolforTexas says she will filibuster on Senate's bill, which is up for debate now.
Alvarado acknowledged the bill will eventually pass but said a filibuster can help "call attention to what is at stake." texastribune.org/2021/08/11/tex…#txlege
@CarolforTexas Senate gave initial approval to SB 1 on 18-11 party-line vote earlier today after some amendments, including creation of online option to correct voting-by-mail errors.
That's something activists, including advocates for voters with disabilities, had been pushing for. #txlege
Though Rs are now pointing to correction process as a positive in defending SB1, it actually came thru Democratic push during regular legislative session.
Dems negotiated it into the voting bill that left the House but was ultimately left off the final version of SB7. #txlege
Alvarado's filibuster should be starting soon when Senate takes up SB1 again for a final vote.
To sustain the filibuster, Alvarado must stand, without leaning on her desk or chair, & speak continuously. If she strays off topic, she can be shut down thru points of order. #txlege
Sen. Alvarado began her filibuster on GOP elections bill, Senate Bill 1, just before 5:50 pm — starting with the founding fathers and some voting rights history.
Just before starting, @DanPatrick reminded her that her comments must be specific to the bill "at all times." #txlege
Alvarado has been reading from testimony her office collected from the public.
Almost an hour into her remarks, @whitmire_john gives her a break by asking some questions.
He gave her a big assist by going through different sections of the bill and asking (what at times could just barely be described as) questions for an hour and a half.
@CarolforTexas Alvarado has slowed down some, but I am quite honestly surprised by how similar the 53-year-old senator sounds at 8 a.m. vs 1 a.m. (after being on her feet without a break since before sunset yesterday). #txlege
"It is my sincere hope that civil acts by everyday Texans, from the Senate floor to the ballot box, can help to shed the light on all important issues," Alvarado, sounding like she's bringing this to a close, says. "What do we want our democracy to look like?" #txlege
“Members take your key and leave the chamber discretely. Do not go the gallery. Leave the building.” @ChrisGTurner texted Democrats as they left the House chamber, breaking quorum and preventing a vote on Senate Bill 7 before a midnight deadline: texastribune.org/2021/05/30/tex…
House Democrats who just broke quorum to prevent vote on GOP’s priority voting bill, Senate Bill 7, are arriving at a Baptist church two miles from the Capitol.
Several “no comments” from lawmakers as they walk into a side entrance of a brick building #txlege
“Welcome to House District 46,” @SherylCole1 says as Democrats come out to address their quorum break to block GOP voting bill. #txlege
The Senate is now trying to bring up Senate Bill 7 on the floor w/ Democrats raising parliamentary inquiries and questions about timing on when the report was distributed to members for review #txlege
.@SenBryanHughes is trying to suspend the rules to allow the Senate to vote on the conference committee report earlier than the required 24 hours since it was filed. He wants to bring up the report after 10 p.m. #txlege
Hughes tells @whitmire_john he's giving senators "more time" by alerting them about 10 p.m. debate on SB 7.
"That's a nice spin," Whitmire says. The rule is for the report to be out for 24 hours so senators have time to review it. Hughes is trying to shorten that window. #txlege
-ban extended early voting hours
-ban drive-thru voting
-further clamp down on voting-by-mail rules
Final version leaves out polling place regulation in big counties that would've led to a decrease in voting sites in Dem areas/for voters of color.
It includes a new voting change to vote-by-mail that wasn't in either chamber's version of the bill.
DL or Social Security number will be required to request a mail-in ballot. Will also be required on the return envelopes containing ballots for votes to be counted.
Election Day polling places in largely Democratic parts of major Texas counties would decrease dramatically under a version of the GOP’s priority voting bill — voting options would be curtailed most in areas with higher shares of voters of color: texastribune.org/2021/05/23/tex…#txlege
Under Senate’s version of Senate Bill 7:
Only Democratic areas in Harris County would lose polling places.
In Tarrant, the greatest losses would be in areas where the large majority of eligible voters are Hispanic & Black:
SB7 would target just the state’s largest counties that use countywide voting on Election Day. More than 60 other Texas counties that offer it — many rural & under Republican control — would remain under the state’s more relaxed rules for polling place distribution. #txlege
House Elections Committee's hearing just broke down amid @BriscoeCain's refusal to allow @NicoleCollier95 (who is not on the committee) to ask questions on House Bill 6, even when @jessicafortexas was presiding over the committee & trying to recognize Collier for Qs #txlege
Collier is chair of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus. There are no Black members on the elections committee. The caucus and @MALCTx previously asked to be able to participate in the hearing — something I've seen happen in the elections committee in previous #txlege sessions
Because HB6 is Cain's bill, González was presiding as vice chair. But when she tried to recognize Collier, Cain attempted to both recess for lunch and move to witnesses w/o letting Collier ask questions. The committee ended up recessing abruptly.