
Texas House expected to pass election overhaul bill Friday
CNN
The Texas House of Representatives is expected to pass an election overhaul bill Friday that would add new voting restrictions and penalties, the latest effort in a slew of Republican-pushed initiatives nationwide that seek to curtail voting access.
The GOP-led Texas House early Friday morning advanced SB 7 on an 81-64 party-line vote to a third reading vote, roughly nine hours after it was introduced on the floor. There were 18 amendments adopted in an after-midnight session after intense behind-the-scenes negotiations led by Democrats to soften some of the bill's language on criminal penalties. Voting advocates and Democrats acknowledged to CNN, however, that it is possible the changes could be dropped, because after the bill passes the House, it must go back to the state Senate to reconcile the sharp differences between the two versions before final passage. And the overall effort amounts to additional restrictions and penalties to the voting process out of an ostensible desire to address voter fraud, though no evidence of fraud in the 2020 election in Texas has been presented.More Related News