Dems walk, stop Texas GOP’s sweeping voting restrictions

AUSTIN (AP) – A restrictive voting bill in Texas that was on the verge of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk has failed to pass Sunday night after Democrats walked out of the House chamber before a midnight deadline. Abbott swiftly said he would call a special session to try passing a voting bill again but did not say when. The bill known as Senate Bill 7 would have imposed a raft of election changes that eliminate drive-thru voting, empower partisan poll watchers and impose new requirements in order to cast a ballot by mail in Texas, which already has some of toughest voting laws in the nation.

The bill, authored by GOP Sen. Bryan Hughes of Mineola, would eliminate drive-thru voting and empower partisan poll watchers. It would also impose new limits on Sunday voting, when many Black churchgoers head to the polls. President Joe Biden called the Texas bill part of an “assault on democracy.”