Hundreds of Texans signed up to voice their opinions–some in favoring, but most opposing–on Saturday on legislation Texas Republicans are promoting that would severely reduce the ability of voters to cast ballots by early voting, mail in or absentee voting, but they were required to wait more than 17 hours, with public testimony started at 1:50 a.m. Sunday morning.

The Texas Tribune reports that 295 people had signed up to address the state house Elections Committee, headed by Republican Briscoe Cain, who was earlier in the year embarrassed on the house floor when he admitted that he did not know the racists origins of language he used in the bill.

Initially, 484 people signed in to testify at the house committee hearing:  407 opposing the legislation, 65 supporting it and 12 neutral.  By the time the public comment section rolled around, about 40% of those who had signed in had left.

One of the problems with the timing was that the Texas legislature has enacted rule that limits open debate and questioning on the house floor, leaving committee hearings the only time legislators can question, in depth, the authors and advocates for legislation.

The house committee meeting started at 8 a.m. Saturday, with the early portion being taken up by bail reform legislation.  The committee took up the voting legislation at 5 p.m., with Democrats questioning the bill’s chief sponsor, Republican Andrew Murr, for hours.

Votes in the equivalent state senate committee were also pushed back to the early Sunday morning hours.  After hearing public testimony, both Republican-led committees voted to approve the legislation to the floors of their respective chambers.

“You just can’t make this up: Republicans are passing anti-voter legislation overnight to prohibit Texans from casting a ballot overnight,” state representative. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, the chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, said.