Texas Senate passes voting bill that led Dems to flee state

The Texas state Senate approved a sweeping election reform bill Tuesday night, one day after dozens of House Democrats fled the state to prevent the chamber from taking up the legislation.

The state Senate approved the bill on an 18-4 party-line vote.

Republicans say the measures in the bill - which include ending drive-thru and 24-hour polling places, banning ballot drop boxes, and empowering partisan poll watchers - are designed to ensure the integrity of the vote by preventing voter fraud.

Earlier Tuesday, the Texas House voted 76-4 to direct its Sergeant-at-Arms to send for all absentee members by "Warrant of arrest if necessary." After the vote, the chamber doors were locked.

Four House Democrats who did not go to Washington were among the lawmakers still inside, while the voting mechanisms on the desks of those absent were locked.

State Rep. Eddie Morales, one of the four Democrats who remained, told reporters it was unlikely authorities dispatched to track down any absent lawmakers would travel outside the state to do so.

While in Washington, the Texas Democrats have pushed for Congress to pass two pieces of federal election reform legislation: the For The People Act, and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.
 

https://nypost.com/2021/07/13/texas-senate-passes-voting-bill-that-led-dems-to-flee-state/