Texas lawmakers strike deal to raise the punishment for illegal voting to a felony
Texas legislators reached agreement Saturday on a bill to raise the penalty for illegal voting from a misdemeanor to a second-degree felony, finding a compromise that will prevent ineligible voters from being prosecuted for mistakenly casting a ballot. A person convicted of an attempt to vote illegally would be subject to a state jail felony.
A 10-lawmaker conference committee resolved the differences between the House and Senate versions of House Bill 1243 on Saturday, after the House rejected last-minute language Sen. Bryan Hughes had added that would have allowed prosecutors to charge a voter who had unintentionally cast an illegal ballot.
The agreement means the bill will almost certainly win final approval in both chambers and be sent to the governor.
Adjusting the penalty for illegal voting has been a priority for Texas Republican leaders since 2021, when the Legislature downgraded illegal voting from a second-degree felony to a Class A misdemeanor as part of an omnibus voting bill. Few noticed the change until after the session ended, and several bills to readjust the penalty were filed this year despite the lack of evidence of widespread voter fraud in Texas.
“The Legislature lowered this penalty less than two years ago. In that time, we have not seen this crime increase, as evidenced by the lack of charges or convictions,” said Rep. John Bucy, D-Austin, who served on the conference committee but chose not to sign the conference report. “While I am glad the protections for innocent mistakes are still intact, which was not the case in the Senate version, there is no need to raise the penalty now.”
https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/27/Illegal-voting-felony-punishment/
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