HOUSTON – The Texas Senate will hold a public hearing Saturday on the proposed voting restrictions bill under consideration during the Texas Legislature’s special session.
The bill, SB1, would ban drive-through voting and 24-hour voting; prohibit election officials from sending unsolicited applications to request a mail-in ballot; add new voter ID requirements for voting by mail; and strengthen poll watcher protections, among other things.
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Mayor Sylvester Turner submitted written testimony stating his opposition to any attempts to ban drive-through voting, restrict the hours of early voting or “make it difficult for Texans to cast a ballot in-person or by mail,” according to release from the Mayor’s Office.
“On August 6, we will celebrate the 56th anniversary of President Lyndon Baines Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965,” Mayor Turner noted in written testimony. “Members of the Legislature would do well to remember how a Texan helped open the polls to all eligible Texas voters. Remember that history will record whatever actions you take.”
A full copy of Mayor Turner’s written testimony can be found here.