Texas nears passage of sweeping voter suppression law

Republican lawmakers in Texas have advanced a sweeping bill to restrict ballot access by cutting early voting hours and banning drive-through voting sites that proved popular in 2020 elections for one of the largest counties in the US.

If signed into law, the measure would also make it illegal for local elections officials to mail out absentee ballots to voters who did not request them, even if they qualify, and would give partisan poll watchers more power to potentially intimidate voters at the ballot box.

The Texas Senate passed the bill by a vote of 18-13 after roughly seven hours of debate, including objections from Democrats who repeatedly warned lawmakers that the measure – among several similar proposals in state houses across the US – revives and enshrines the legacy of Jim Crow-era voter suppression that disproportionately targets voters of colour.