The Texas Tribune
The Texas House spent hours overnight debating and negotiating Republicans’ proposed voting restrictions. The chamber voted 81-64 to advance Senate Bill 7 — leaving out various far-reaching restrictions that have prompted widespread outcry from voting rights advocates and many others.
But the final contours of the bill remain uncertain. And they could soon be worked out behind closed doors.
The pared down version of the bill came after it faced more than 130 proposed amendments from Democrats and a procedural challenge that could have delayed the entire legislation’s consideration. Lawmakers huddled off the chamber’s floor throughout the night to cut a deal and again rework SB 7.
House Republicans nixed a provision that would’ve required people assisting voters to disclose the reason a voter might need help — even if for medical reasons.
In keeping the ban on distributing applications for mail-in ballots, the House upheld its response to Harris County’s attempt to proactively send applications to all 2.4 million registered voters last year with instructions on how to determine if they were eligible.
The bill will need a second House vote, expected later Friday, before it can head back to the Senate. It will then likely go to a conference committee made up of members of both chambers who will be able to pull from both iterations of the legislation in crafting the final version largely outside public view. Read the full story by the Tribune’s Alexa Ura.
