July 13, 2021
All eyes were on Texas this past week as conservative activists from around the nation gathered in Dallas for the Conservative Political Action Conference. Almost every Republican thinking about running for their party’s 2024 presidential nomination was in attendance and spoke. They shared a vision for America that fed a crowd who still believes that the 2020 election was stolen and the Jan. 6 insurrection was a made-up event created by the media.
At the very same time as this political gathering of ridiculous opinions and lies was happening in Dallas, the new special session of the Texas Legislature was taking place in Austin. On Saturday, the Texas House of Representatives had their committee hearing on House Bill 3 that would put in place new restrictions on voting.
During the hearing, Republicans admitted that they had no proof of large acts of voting fraud but continued with their efforts to disenfranchise Texans, especially communities of color. One particular attack on voting rights is to outlaw 24-hour and drive-through voting that had been used by Harris County in 2020.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott expressed that he saw drive-through voting having a “coercive effect” on voting integrity while at the same time being quiet on the language in the bill that would allow partisan poll-watchers to have “free movement” at polling places. After a nearly 24-hour hearing where people from all over Texas waited in line to testify against the bill, the legislation passed and will continue to move forward toward becoming law.