There are all kinds of ways to fight voter suppression in Texas.
On Monday, the League of Women Voters of Houston showed up at Discovery Green armed with red sunglasses, heart-shaped lollipops, stickers, and signs — as well as voter registration forms and
48-page voter guides for Houstonians who hope to participate in the state’s March 1 primary .
It was Valentine’s Day, as well as the first day of the early-voting period; a happy coincidence, observed LWV Houston President Annie Benifield.
“Show your love by voting!” she advised on Tuesday, the 102nd anniversary of the League’s founding.
https://www.lwv.org/about-us/history
It was a gorgeous day, too, with dogs frisking and children frolicking and couples picnicking. But it’s been a grim season for voting rights in Texas, thanks to new restrictions passed by the Republican-led Texas Legislature in 2021.
A federal judge in San Antonio gave
gave voting-rights advocates a rare victory on Friday on Friday, blocking a provision in the law that criminalizes the solicitation of mail-in ballots by elections officials from being enforced in several counties, including Harris County. Candidates can send out mail-in ballots unsolicited, but nonpartisan election officials couldn’t under the new law. Go figure.
VOTER GUIDE:
Everything to know for Houston's upcoming primary election
Harris County Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria, a plaintiff in the case, had argued that this provision effectively prevented her from even talking about mail-in voting, lest that be construed as exhorting eligible voters to exercise this option. You can see her point.
The state is expected to appeal the decision, though. Republicans increasingly seem to be taking the stance that encouraging civic participation is dangerous to their political prospects.
“These days League of Women Voters is nothing more than an extension of the Democrat Party,” tweeted state Rep. Briscoe Cain, a Deer Park Republican who chairs the House Elections Committee and helped then-President Donald Trump challenge the 2020 election results as part of his legal team. Trump lost by more than 7 million votes and his legal challenges have been rejected by election officials and the courts.
Nancy Kral, a longtime LWV Houston volunteer who also taught political science for several decades, said she and others are “just trying to encourage people to come vote.”
“This is totally nonpartisan,” she affirmed. “As a matter of fact, I sent an email to the Harris County Republican Party and the Harris County Democratic Party telling them about this. We’d love to have everybody.”
Republican voters in Harris County might find the League’s Voters Guide especially useful this year, as it effectively tells you which of the candidates are taking their job interviews seriously.
In the primary for attorney general, for example, GOP voters have to decide between four candidates with impressive electoral records, at least on paper. Two of them — Land Commissioner George P. Bush and longtime Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzmán — took the time to answer the League’s questions about their stances on elections, health care, immigration, and other priorities.
The other two candidates, incumbent Ken Paxton and East Texas congressman Louie Gohmert, didn’t even bother. The guide explains simply, “No response received.”
Well, then.
The primary, as noted, will be held March 1. The early voting period runs from now through Feb. 25, with a day off for Feb. 21, Presidents Day. The Houston Chronicle
has a voter guide, too, available online now.
Benefield is right: you can show your love — for this city, the county, the state, your community — by voting. You can also show your pride in them, and your hopes for their future.
And, if you’re so inclined, voting is a great way to show your frustration with the politicians who have put their partisan agenda ahead of your hard-won rights. Who could resist such an opportunity, really?
erica.grieder@chron.com
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