DEM DEFEAT

Texas House Passes Restrictive Voting Bill That Caused Dem Walkout

The bill heads now to the state Senate, where it is expected to pass.

The Texas House passed a bill that will restrict voting access across the state Friday, with 80 in favor and 41 against. The bill heads now to the state Senate, where it is expected to pass, though some senators may attempt to add amendments before the legislation goes to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk. The controversial bill caused Democratic representatives to flee the state for Washington, D.C., in order to deny their Republican colleagues a quorum for two back-to-back legislative sessions. That 38-day walkout ended late last week when several Democrats returned to Austin, citing the need to respond to Texas’ recent massive surge in coronavirus cases. Republican legislators originally drafted the bill in response to lies about the integrity of the 2020 election.