Texas Democrats file alternative to GOP voting bill
Texas Senate Democrats introduced voting rights legislation on Friday that would include expanding voter registration efforts and expanding the period for early voting as an alternative to two Republican-sponsored bills.
Senate Bill 61, dubbed the Barbara Jordan Fair Elections Act in honor of the first Black woman elected to the Texas state Senate, would allow online voter registration, automatically register people to vote once they receive their driver's license and would expand existing opportunities to vote by mail, among other provisions.
"The act respects Texans' ability to choose how they would cast their ballot by expanding the use of vote by mail and expanding the early voting period," state Sen. Royce West (D) said, according to CBS DFW.
Two GOP voting bills, Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 3, are scheduled for committee hearings on Saturday. Senate Democrats have argued that the pieces of legislation restrict access to voting by adding an ID requirement for mail-in voting, banning late-night voting and establishing harsher penalties for voter fraud, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/texas-democrats-file-alternative-to-gop-voting-bill/ar-AALZS0x
