得克萨斯州奥斯汀——得克萨斯州共和党人周一带回了他们的投票法案，没有任何变化，因为一些民主党人结束了他们的抵制后首次回到国会大厦，表明该法案在他们38天的罢工后有望成为法律。
数十人出现在立法者面前作证，以抓住他们最后的机会，让公众对该法案发表意见，该法案将以共和党称将确保的方式收紧投票规则选举民主党人说这相当于压制残疾人和少数族裔的选民。
参议院法案1将使邮件投票成为一个更严格的过程，增加投票观察者的自由，并禁止24小时和免下车投票，哈里斯县——包括休斯顿，近500万居民中有44%是拉丁裔，20%是黑人——为选民提供了更多的选择，并提供了预防冠状病毒的保护。
住在休斯顿的坎迪斯·休斯顿说，她周日晚上抵达奥斯汀，这样她就可以在周一早些时候出庭作证。当太阳升起时，她和大约70名其他人一起到达国会大厦。
休斯顿反对投票改革，并希望与她的女儿们分享她在11月选举期间使用免下车投票站的经验，其中包括一名支持新冠肺炎的人。休斯顿说，她和女儿们的身份在投票前得到了彻底核实，不允许她们拿出手机，这比不得不进入大楼投票更方便。
“我的祖先为了我们投票的特权而牺牲和游行，任何时候我都能参加，我会在那里，”身为黑人的休斯顿说。“我们应该鼓励人们投票，而不是通过限制他们可以投票的地点和时间来限制他们。”
但是休斯顿郊区伍德兰兹的斯蒂夫·劳伦斯出现，敦促立法者通过该法案。劳伦斯说他是选区主席，这是一个党派立场，登记选民并鼓励他们出现并投票。但他表示，他不信任2020年选举的进行方式，并希望要求立法机构对邮件选票更正的管理方式进行程序性修改，以及对结果和系统维护进行法医备份的语言。
劳伦斯说:“我们对选举不满意，对停止对系统的任何检查的斗争方式也不满意。“我认为，如果那里没有什么东西，他们就不会打得这么激烈。”
众议院一个委员会周一修正了参议院第一号法案，以匹配众议院版本法案中的措辞。该小组预计将通过该法案，该法案将在众议院全体议员投票后通过，离共和党州长格雷格·艾伯特的办公桌只有几步之遥，预计他将签署该法案使其成为法律。
德克萨斯州是共和党控制的大州中最后一个尚未通过更严格的投票法的州，这主要是因为该州众议院的50多名民主党人于7月飞往华盛顿特区阻止这些提议。这一策略使众议院没有足够的成员达到法定人数，无法开展工作。这是民主党人在5月份例行立法会议的最后几个小时里采取的类似策略的升级。
前总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)谎称2020年大选被盗，这引发了许多美国人的不满，并迫使共和党实施这些变革。但是共和党议员并不经常引用特朗普的名字。
该法案的起草者、共和党众议员安德鲁·穆尔(Andrew Murr)表示:“该法案的立法意图是应用这一准则，选举行为在全州范围内保持统一和一致，以减少选举中舞弊的可能性，保护选票的保密性，促进选民参与，并确保所有合法投出的选票都被计算在内，因此德州人对可靠的选举制度仍然充满信心。他星期一告诉众议院委员会，这种语言受到两党意见的启发。
结束罢工显示了德克萨斯州民主党人之间的分歧，一些人希望继续坚持公开批评他们的代表同伴。但即使是周一到场作证的得克萨斯州居民和活动人士也承认，这场看似失败的战斗可能即将结束。
与今年早些时候数百人排队发言相比，排队发言的人要少得多。得克萨斯州目前因超级传染性三角洲变种导致的新冠肺炎病例和住院人数激增，可能是避免拥挤的国会大厦的原因之一。
但是支持代表性不足社区的无党派组织“德州移动”的志愿者琥珀·米尔斯说，周一的低投票率并不意味着德州人支持投票立法。在她看来，反对该法案的斗争已经取得了胜利。
米尔斯说:“即使今天、明天或任何时候在这项法案上输了，我们的处境也比上一届更好，我们知道我们会继续朝着这个方向前进。
With Democrats back, Texas GOP pushes ahead with voting bill
AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas Republicans brought back their voting bill Monday with no changes as some Democrats returned to the Capitol for the first time since ending their holdout, making it clear that the bill is on track to become law after their 38-day walkout.
Dozens of people showed up to testify before lawmakers to seize their last chance for public input on the the bill that will tighten voting rules in ways the GOP says will ensureelectionintegrity and that Democrats say amounts to voter suppression for disabled people and minorities.
Senate Bill 1 would make mail voting a stricter process, increase liberties for poll watchers, and prohibit 24-hour and drive-thru voting, two ways Harris County — which includes Houston and where 44% of the nearly 5 million residents are Latino and 20% are Black — expanded options for voters and also offered protections against the coronavirus.
Candis Houston, who lives in Houston, said she arrived in Austin on Sunday night so she could show up early Monday to testify. She joined about 70 other people who arrived at the Capitol as the sun was rising.
Houston is against the voting overhaul and wanted to share her experience of using a drive-thru polling location with her daughters, including one who was positive for COVID-19, during the November election. Houston said she and her daughters' identities were thoroughly verified before they cast ballots, that they were not allowed to have cell phones out and that it was more convenient than having to go into a building to vote.
“I had ancestors that died and marched for the privilege for us to vote, and anytime I can participate, I am going to be there," said Houston, who is Black. “We should be encouraging people to vote and not limiting them by limiting where and when they can vote."
But Steve Lawrence, of the Houston suburb of The Woodlands, showed up to press lawmakers to pass the bill. Lawrence said he was precinct chairman, a partisan position that registers voters and encourages them to show up and cast a ballot. But he said he didn't trust the way the 2020 election was conducted and wanted to ask the Legislature to make procedural changes on how mail ballot corrections are managed, as well as language on forensic backups to results and system maintenance.
“We are not happy with the election, and the way that there seems to be such a fight to stop any examination of the systems," Lawrence said. "I think they wouldn’t be fighting so hard if there wasn’t something there.”
A House committee amended Senate Bill 1 on Monday to match language in the House version of the bill. The panel was expected to pass the legislation that will next head to a vote of the full House, leaving it just steps from the desk of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who is expected to sign it into law.
Texas is the last of the big GOP-run states that has yet to pass more restrictive voting laws, largely because more than 50 Democrats in the state House of Representatives jetted off to Washington, D.C., in July to block the proposals. The maneuver kept the House from having enough members for a quorum that would allow it to conduct business. It was an escalation of a similar tactic Democrats used by walking out during the waning hours of the regular legislation session in May.
Former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen have stoked discontent among many Americans and driven the Republican Party to impose the changes. But GOP lawmakers don't frequently invoke Trump's name.
“The legislative intent of the bill is the application of this code and the conduct of elections be uniform and consistent throughout the state to reduce the likelihood of fraud in the conduct of elections, protect the secrecy of the ballot, promote voter access and ensure all legally cast ballots are counted, so Texans remain confident in a reliable elections system” said Republican Rep. Andrew Murr, the author of the bill. He told the House committee Monday that the language was inspired by bipartisan input.
Ending the walkout showed fissures among Texas Democrats, with some who wanted to keep holding out publicly criticizing their fellow representatives. But even Texas residents and activists who showed up to testify Monday acknowledged the end of what appears to be a losing battle is likely drawing near.
Far fewer people waited in line to speak compared to earlier in the year, when hundreds lined up. Texas' current surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations because of the super-contagious delta variant could have been one reason more avoided the crowded Capitol.
But Amber Mills, a volunteer with the nonpartisan organization MOVE Texas, which advocates for underrepresented communities, said the low turnout Monday didn’t mean Texans support the voting legislation. And in her view, the fight against the bill already has had wins.
“Even if lose on this bill today, or tomorrow, or whenever it happens, we are in a better position than we were last session and we know we will keep moving forward that way,” Mills said.
