After all the theatrics and political stunts, blunders, and grandstanding, it looks like we are back to where we started: Republicans will soon pass a voting "reform" bill tailored to make it more difficult for Texans to vote. Still, there are some positives that came out of all this drama. First, Democrats were able to bring more state and national attention to Republican attacks on voting rights. Second, the latest draft of the bill no longer restricts early voting on Sundays (e.g. our "Souls to the Polls" initiatives). Third, the latest draft no longer makes it easier for election results to be overturned in court. With a Republican Governor and Republican majorities in the Texas Senate and House, these three positives are clearly a small victory for the Democrats.
At this time, our Democratic Party leaders need to acknowledge the inevitable and focus on helping Texas Democrats comply with the new law. All voters still need to be registered and have a valid I.D., most people will need to make arrangements to vote in-person (not absentee), voters will need to stand in line (no drive-thru voting), voters in high population areas will need to take more advantage of early voting dates, and Democrats will need to organize poll watchers to counter other partisan poll watchers and help minimize their ability to intimidate voters and election officials. Since the Republican voting bill will soon become law, let's develop and implement a coordinated strategy to minimize its impact on our Democratic voters. Democrats can't rely on state law being overturned by the courts or new federal voting rights legislation. Locally, let's do what we can to help our voters comply with the new law and VOTE in the 2022 upcoming election.
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UPDATE: The new law passed - please see the link below for the story.
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