“After more than five hours of public testimony, largely in opposition, a Texas Senate committee advanced a wide-ranging elections bill Friday night that would further tighten the state’s already restrictive voting rules and clamp down on local efforts to make it easier to vote. Senate Bill 7 – one of Texas Republicans’ priority elections bills – would limit extended early voting hours, prohibit drive-thru voting and allow partisan poll watchers to record voters who receive help filling out their ballots. It would also forbid local election officials from encouraging voters to fill out applications to vote by mail, even if they qualify. They also would not be able to proactively send out applications to voters who do not request them – a practice that is commonly used by political parties. Some Texans would also have to provide proof of disability to qualify for mail-in voting. SB 7, which was offered under the banner of ‘election integrity,’ sailed out of the GOP-dominated Senate State Affairs Committee on a party-line vote and now heads to the full Senate.”

“The bill is a significant piece in a broader legislative effort by Texas Republicans this year to enact sweeping changes to elections in the state that would scale up already restrictive election rules. In presenting the bill to the committee Friday, Republican state Sen. Bryan Hughes described the legislation as an effort to strike a balance between ‘maintaining fair and honest elections with the opportunity to exercise one’s right to vote.’ But the bill was met with a chorus of opposition. Advocates for people with disabilities and voting rights advocates tagged the proof-of-disability requirement as harmful and potentially unlawful. The bill was also widely panned as detrimental to local efforts that would widen access to voting, particularly extended early voting hours and drive-thru voting offered in Harris County in November” – Texas Tribune.