AUSTIN — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Tuesday signed into law a bill that creates strict new voting rules in the state, ending a months-long effort by Democrats to stall the legislation by denying Republicans a quorum in the House.
But the law already faces at least five challenges in state and federal courts, with dozens of organizations and individuals suing Texas GOP leaders and local elections officials. Abbott said he did not think the legal challenges would derail the legislation.
“I feel extremely confident that when this law makes it through the litigation phase, it will be upheld in a court of law,” Abbott told reporters in Tyler, Tex., where he signed the bill. “No one who is eligible to vote will be denied the opportunity to vote. It does, however, make it harder for cheaters to cast an illegal ballot.”
The White House pledged Tuesday to continue battling new voting restrictions, which Republican leaders have passed in numerous states, often while citing former president Donald Trump’s false claims of mass electoral fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
“So we would say to these advocates, ‘We stand with you.’ There’s more we’re going to keep working on together,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, referring to those seeking to block the Texas law. “The vice president’s going to be leading this effort. And we agree that voting should be a fundamental right to people.”
Texas lawmakers last week approved the bill, which imposes new criminal penalties for violating voting laws, bans 24-hour and drive-through voting and allows more access for partisan poll watchers. Abbott at the time argued that the legislation would “solidify trust and confidence in the outcome of our elections by making it easier to vote and harder to cheat.”
GOP legislators in Texas give final approval to new voting restrictions, overcoming Democratic opposition
But opponents swiftly took to federal court, filing two separate complaints Friday seeking injunctions to stop Senate Bill 1 (S.B. 1) from going into effect.
One of those complaints, filed in San Antonio, lists 14 plaintiffs, including Texas Impact, a faith-based advocacy group. Executive Director Bee Moorhead said in a news release that the group was suing after having “prayed, protested, preached, and pushed, but at the end of the day, lawmakers have chosen a path that will lead to disenfranchisement.”
A second complaint was filed in Austin on Friday on behalf of five plaintiffs including the League of Women Voters of Texas, a nonpartisan group that encourages civic engagement, and REV UP Texas, which advocates for voters with disabilities.
“Litigation is always a last resort,” said Ryan Cox, a lawyer at the Texas Civil Rights Project who represents the Austin plaintiffs. “Only when the legislature ignores federal law, ignores all the facts given to them by the communities that the bill [affects] — only then do we consider litigation.”
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