Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Signs GOP Voting Restriction Bill

On Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas) signed an election bill that adds more voting restrictions on the state’s citizens, three months after the Democrats spent months trying to block the bill from becoming law.

“One thing that all Texans can agree, and that is that we must have trust and confidence in our elections. The bill that I’m about to sign helps to achieve that goal,” Abbott said at Tuesday’s bill signing ceremony in Austin.

The bill was signed three months after Democrats in the Texas House left the state Capitol to block the Republican voting bill temporarily. More than 50 Democratic state lawmakers went to Washington, D.C. to block the bill again by denying the legislature a quorum. Republicans, in response, issued civil arrest warrants to bring Democrats back to the state Capitol.

Democrats are trying to encourage the U.S. Congress to pass a federal law which would establish minimum national voting standards.

“Senate Bill 1 will go into effect on December 3rd. With the deliberate barriers to voting created by this legislation and redistricting just around the corner, we need the U.S. Senate to act immediately on the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Our democracy depends on it,” Texas House Democratic Chair Chris Turner said in a statement.

Republican supporters enjoyed Tuesday’s ceremony, including Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R-Texas), who claimed that the bill would allow his constituents to “vote fairly.”

“Texas turns out voters because they have confidence that our elections are always going to be fair and Senate Bill 1 will give them even more confidence. We want to see more people vote, we want to see them vote fairly and we don’t want the cheaters to undermine our elections,” Patrick said.

Following the signing, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that President Joe Biden would continue his efforts to protect voting rights.

“We would say to these advocates: we stand with you,” Psaki told reporters Tuesday aboard Air Force One. “There’s more we’re going to keep working on together.”

Article by Dongyoon Shin