Sen. Bryan Hughes speaks to Smith County Republicans

TYLER — State Senator Bryan Hughes, of Mineola, visited Tyler on Thursday to meet with the Smith County Republican Club. The 87th legislative session recently came to an end, and now East Texas lawmakers are focusing on the upcoming special session in Austin. According to our news partner KETK, Hughes spoke at the Hollytree Country Club about his expectations for that next session. He said Governor Greg Abbott will call lawmakers in to talk about election security and integrity. Hughes also wants a bill similar to his Senate Bill 7 to make it through in session.

“We want every vote to count. We want to make sure cheating is not taking place. We heard testimony from Texans, from East Texans, from folks in the valley, from the suburbs about how people are cheating. So, Senate Bill 7 isn’t aimed so much at voters it’s aimed at ballot harvesters, cheaters, folks who are trying to coerce votes, trying to steal votes,” he said.

During the regular session, the bill made it through the senate but not the house. He also said the final version of Senate Bill 7 is a good starting point. Governor Abbott has not called for state lawmakers to meet, yet. Hughes believes this will happen soon. During the Thursday meeting, the senator also touted his accomplishments during the regular session, which included the heart-beat bill, which bans most abortions after six weeks.