By Joseph Ax and Steve Gorman
May 6 (Reuters) - The Texas House of Representatives opened floor debate on Thursday on a Republican-backed bill barring election officials from sending voters unsolicited mail-in ballot applications and giving partisan poll watchers more access to voting sites.
Following enactment of sweeping new voting restrictions in Georgia and Florida in recent weeks, the lower house of the Texas legislature was expected to give preliminary approval to the bill Thursday night, with final action expected on Friday.
If adopted, Republican lawmakers will most likely seek to reconcile the House bill with companion Senate-passed legislation that imposes limits on the early casting of election ballots, and abolishes drive-through voting and round-the-clock voting, among other provisions.
United StatesTexas lawmakers open House floor debate on Republican-backed voting limits
Steve GormanJoseph Ax
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An election official points towards a mail in ballot while scanning votes for the 2020 U.S. presidential election in Marfa, Texas, U.S., November 3, 2020. REUTERS/Adrees Latif
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The Texas House of Representatives opened floor debate on Thursday on a Republican-backed bill barring election officials from sending voters unsolicited mail-in ballot applications and giving partisan poll watchers more access to voting sites.
Following enactment of sweeping new voting restrictions in Georgia and Florida in recent weeks, the lower house of the Texas legislature was expected to give preliminary approval to the bill Thursday night, with final action expected on Friday.
Texas House backs Republican-backed voting curbs
By Joseph Ax and Steve Gorman
Reuters
(Reuters) -The Texas House of Representatives on Friday backed a bill to bar election officials from sending voters unsolicited mail-in ballot applications, while giving party-affiliated poll watchers greater access to voting sites.
The overnight vote in the Republican-controlled legislature followed enactment of similar measures in Georgia and Florida in the wake of Democrat Joe Biden s presidential election win.
Sponsors of the bills assert they are intended to prevent voter fraud while bolstering election integrity and public confidence in balloting.
Democrats and civil liberties advocates counter that there is no evidence of widespread ballot tampering, and argue that such legislation disproportionately burdens or discourages voters of color, as well as the elderly and disabled.
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It s Not Just Soaring Inflation: Here Are The 4 Main Themes On This Quarter s Earnings Calls
by Tyler Durden
Friday, May 07, 2021 - 03:13 PM
By now everyone - except a very special group of idiots residing at the Marriner Eccles building and their media propaganda lackeys - is aware that inflation in the US is soaring to the point where some such as BofA, are speculating that the US is facing a period of transitory hyperinflation (if BofA is right it would be remarkable, as it would be the first ever case in human history of transitory hyperinflation that does not result in a monetary reset).
Texas is latest U.S. state to advance Republican-backed voting limits
By Joseph Ax and Steve Gorman
Reuters
(Reuters) -Texas joined other Republican-controlled states on Friday in advancing a slew of new voting restrictions, defying opposition from many of the state s businesses and adding to a fierce national debate over voting rights.
The state House of Representatives in Austin gave the legislation preliminary approval at 3 a.m. CDT (0800 GMT) on Friday after hours of debate before delivering final approval around 2:45 p.m. (1945 GMT), largely along party lines.
Members of the House and the state Senate, which passed its own bill imposing voting limits last month, will now work to reconcile the two bills before sending a finalized version to Republican Governor Greg Abbott, who has indicated he will sign it.