SB 1 makes sweeping changes to Texas’ elections and includes a number of provisions that will further restrict voting access for eligible Texans
ATLANTA — Today, Fair Fight Action, the national voting rights organization founded by Stacey Abrams, released a statement denouncing Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Republican state legislators for passing SB 1, an extreme anti-voter bill that further restricts the freedom to vote and access to the ballot for eligible Texans.
SB 1 makes sweeping changes to Texas’ elections by banning 24-hour and drive through voting, limiting early voting hours, empowering partisan poll watchers, and threatening people who help voters cast their ballots—including disabled voters—with criminal penalties.
The bill was passed during the second special session called by Abbott this summer to pass discriminatory anti-voter legislation. During the regular session, House Democrats blocked the passage of SB 7, which would have threatened voters’ freedom to cast a ballot, criminalized pro-voter policies, and caved to conspiracy theorists by making it easier to overturn an election. Republicans in the Texas legislature kicked off the 2021 session by introducing at least 106 bills restricting the freedom to vote.
Fair Fight Action Founder and Chair Stacey Abrams issued the following statement:
“Governor Abbott and Republicans in the state legislature have been relentless in their efforts to advance anti-voter legislation and restrict Texans’ freedom to vote by any means possible. As Texas sees one of the worst surges in COVID-19 hospitalizations to date, Abbott and his partisan allies have instead prioritized denying eligible Texans’ their fundamental freedom to vote.
The passage of SB 1 should be a clarion call for U.S. Senators on the urgent need for federal action protecting the freedom to vote. Our U.S. Senators must follow the courageous lead of Texas Democrats and answer their desperate pleas for federal action to save our democracy. With the Texas redistricting process looming, U.S. Senate passage of the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act is imperative.”
###