Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 30, 2023

CONTACT: press@securedemocracyusa.org

Senate’s Election Bills Chart the Wrong Course for Texas Elections

AUSTIN, Texas – In response to today’s Senate State Affairs hearing on a number of voting and election-related bills, Secure Democracy USA’s Senior Policy Director Daniel Griffith released the following statement:

"Texas voters deserve to be put first in election policy, but unfortunately today’s Senate State Affairs Committee heard a number of bills that will weaken confidence in Texas elections and undermine the work of local election officials. The bills heard today threaten voter access, usurp local control of elections, and create a costly and controversial new special police unit for election-related criminal offenses.

"Instead of further undermining Texas voters' freedom to vote, we urge the legislature to focus on common-sense solutions that build confidence in Texas elections, including administrative fixes to 2021’s SB 1, opportunities to expand ballot tracking, and the chance to allow voters to fix minor mistakes on their ballot envelopes.”

Among the Senate bills considered today that Secure Democracy opposes:

• Senate Bill 220 would create a new costly and unnecessary “election marshals” program. Read our fact sheet on S.B. 220 here.

• Senate Bill 823 would allow the Secretary of State to suspend and replace a county election administrator based on ill-defined criteria. Read our fact sheet on S.B. 823 here.
  

Additional Senate bills that would weaken confidence in elections and undermine local election officials:

• Senate Bill 260 establishes voter list maintenance practices that may wrongfully cancel the registrations of eligible voters.

• Senate Bill 1750 would eliminate the position of election administrator in counties with populations over 1 million.

• Senate Bill 1993 would require the Secretary of State to order a new election if more than two percent of total polling places in a county fail to receive supplemental ballots within an hour of requesting them. The bill provides no standards for determining the extent to which anyone’s ability to vote was affected. 
  

By welcome contrast, the bills being heard by the House Elections Committee today would strengthen Texas elections:

• House Bill 1632 would require the Secretary of State to standardize training for poll workers, signature committees, and poll watchers. 

• House Bill 4780 would improve ballot verification by moving important verification information from a cramped carrier envelope to an easier-to-read sheet inside the envelope.

Secure Democracy will continue to work with state lawmakers and their staff in the House and Senate on election-related issues so Texas can be a leader in policy that protects voter freedom and builds confidence in our elections.

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