Hughes defends election bill

AUSTIN — The Texas Senate has passed its election integrity bill, but Republicans there say Democrats in the House are wasting their time with their flight to Washington. Senator Bryan Hughes of Mineola wrote the measure, and he says the bill actually includes more options to vote by adding early voting hours and requiring employers to let their workers off to vote early. The bill would ban drive-thru voting and stop county elections departments from sending out unsolicited vote-by-mail applications.