Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 6, 2021

CONTACT: press@secure-democracy.org

Secure Democracy: Lawmakers Must Focus on Positive Reforms, Not New Restrictions on Voting

AUSTIN, Texas— As the Texas House prepares to take up omnibus voting legislation (H.B. 6) on Thursday, Secure Democracy issued the following statement:

“A bipartisan majority of Texas voters believe Texas’ elections already work well and it is disappointing to see state lawmakers bending to partisan influences seeking to interfere with them,” said Sarah Walker, executive director of Secure Democracy. “Instead of criminalizing caregivers and poll workers, state leaders should focus on positive reforms that strengthen Texas elections.”

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND

House Bill 6, which passed out of the House Elections Committee following a 22-hour hearing and is expected to be considered by the full House today, would create barriers to providing necessary assistance to voters, including for caregivers who assist family members or the voters to whom they provide care. The provisions that would specifically affect disabled, older and veteran populations include:

  • Prosecuting caregivers and family members providing assistance to voters for criminal offenses if they fail to complete new, confusing documentation when providing assistance. Assistants would need to attest to the nature of the voter’s disability that requires them to receive assistance. (Sections 4.01 through 4.03)

  • Prosecuting election officials for felonies if they send ballot applications to voters who do not first request one. Due to the restrictions Texas places on mail ballot voting, a large portion of mail ballot voters are older voters and disabled voters. The bill also prohibits local election officials from making sensible changes to election procedures to increase voter access. (Section 5.04) 

  • Prosecuting election judges in polling locations for criminal offenses when they remove unruly and disruptive partisan poll watchers. (Section 3.03 and 3.07)

  • Prosecuting members of community organizations who assist a voter in casting their ballot in person or by mail. (Section 5.04)

  • Exposes any person helping a voter mail their ballot to felony prosecution, including family members interested in helping a voter cast the ballot for the candidate of the voter’s choice. (Section 5.04)

Senate Bill 7, which passed the Senate in the dead of night on April 1, was recently amended in the House Elections Committee on April 29 to have the same provisions as HB6. The version of Senate Bill 7 passed by the Senate would create significant barriers to voting for seniors, veterans, and disabled Texans. Provisions that would specifically affect these populations include:

  • Creating new, confusing documentation requirements for voters to receive assistance voting in person or by mail. These requirements would make it even more challenging for disabled voters and voters for whom English is a second language to have their voices heard. (Sections 3.10 & 3.11)

  • Creating additional barriers for community organizations to provide needed information and assistance to voters, particularly related to vote by mail. A March 2021 poll found that 81% of Texas voters wanted voters to receive necessary assistance in completing their ballots. (Section 4.08)

  • Eliminating the discretion of local election officials to provide alternative voting options to meet the needs of their diverse populations. The bill would lead to fewer and smaller polling locations in the most populous areas of metropolitan counties, despite polling finding 84% of Texans believe election officials should provide more polling locations. (Sections 3.06, 3.07, 3.15)

  • Allowing partisan activists serving as “poll watchers” to intimidate voters by recording them in the polling place, including recording voters who need assistance with casting their ballots, and limiting the ability of election judges to remove disruptive poll watchers. (Sections 3.01 through 3.05)

  • Exposing any person helping a voter mail their ballot to felony prosecution, including family members interested in helping a voter cast the ballot for the candidate of the voter’s choice. (Section 4.08)

There is widespread opposition to additional voting restrictions in Texas.

  • Texas Republican pollster Chris Perkins, partner at Ragnar Research, said in an op-ed: “As long as Texas elections are grounded in accountability and transparency, voters are strongly on board with making it easier to cast a ballot before and on Election Day.”

  • The Coalition of Texans with Disabilities opposes S.B. 7 and says: “In 2021, the Legislature should enable a mail-in ballot format that is accessible to all eligible voters, as well as address the state's faulty policies around mail-in ballot signature verification and ensure that voters have an opportunity to cure their ballot before an election, if a discrepancy is found.” 

  • AARP Texas, in written testimony opposing S.B. 7, said: “AARP maintains that, as introduced, SB 7 imposes that heavier burden and will result in disproportionate and unnecessary risks of disenfranchising older voters in Texas. Specific concerns include, but are not limited to, Article 2 (Vote By Mail- VBM) provisions of the bill.”

  • More than 175 members of the Greater Houston Partnership called on GHP and state lawmakers to oppose several key provisions of the voting bills being debated in the Texas Legislature, noting the legislation would create unacceptable barriers for Houston-area residents to cast a ballot.

  • Fair Texas Elections, a coalition of businesses and chamber organizations, released a statement of principles opposing any legislation that would restrict voter access to the ballot. Signers include Microsoft, HP, American Airlines, Patagonia, Salesforce, Unilever and others. 

  • American Airlines, in a media statement issued April 1, 2021, said: “Earlier this morning, the Texas State Senate passed legislation with provisions that limit voting access. To make American’s stance clear: We are strongly opposed to this bill and others like it. As a Texas-based business, we must stand up for the rights of our team members and customers who call Texas home, and honor the sacrifices made by generations of Americans to protect and expand the right to vote.”

  • R Street, a national research organization supporting free markets and limited government, said in written testimony opposing S.B. 7: “We should not be focused on limiting pathways to voting or restricting local control. Instead, we should do the opposite, which is why it is critical that the Legislature amend or oppose SB 7.” 

  • The Business Roundtable, in a media statement issued March 31, 2021, said: “Unnecessary restrictions on the right to vote strike at the heart of representative government. Business Roundtable members believe state laws must safeguard and guarantee the right to vote."

  • Dell founder Michael Dell opposes Texas voting restrictions, tweeting on April 1, 2021: “Governments should ensure citizens have their voices heard. HB6 does the opposite, and we are opposed to it.”

  • Apple CEO Tim Cook, in a media statement issued April 1, 2021, said: “Apple believes that, thanks in part to the power of technology, it ought to be easier than ever for every eligible citizen to exercise their right to vote. We support efforts to ensure that our democracy’s future is more hopeful and inclusive than its past.”

A Secure Democracy statewide poll of Texas voters, conducted by leading Republican pollster Chris Perkins of Ragnar Research Partners, found widespread support for voter access and opposition to the threat of criminal penalties that minimize voter assistance: 

  • Necessary assistance returning ballots: 81% of all voters support; 75% of Republican voters support

  • Threatening felony prosecution for an accidental vote: 61% of all voters oppose, 51% of Republican voters oppose

  • Threatening felony prosecution for providing assistance: 62% of voters said no to felony charge; 73% said no to felony charge for assisting more than three voters 

The poll also found strong bipartisan support for policies and legislation that increase accessibility and accountability within the Texas election system:

  • Extending early voting by one week: 73% of all voters support; 58% of Republican voters support

  • Increasing number of polling locations: 84% of all voters support; 80% of Republican voters support

  • Using an electronic ballot tracking system for mail-in ballots: 83% of all voters support; 75% of Republican voters support

  • Conducting regular voter roll audits: 91% of all voters support; 94% of Republican voters support

  • Investigating before canceling voter registration: 84% of all voters support; 86% of Republican voters support

A Secure Democracy analysis of Texas Secretary of State data from the 2020 general election found that restricting access to absentee and early voting options could largely disenfranchise Republican voters:

  • Fewer than 1 in 5 Texas Republicans voted on Election Day. Instead, 64% of Texas Republicans voted early and 23% of Texas Republicans voted by mail; 

  • Republicans cast 54% of all early votes in the 2020 general election in Texas;

  • Republicans cast half (50%) of all mail votes in the 2020 general election in Texas;

  • More than 4 million voters aged 55 or older voted early or by mail in Texas, as opposed to 426,000 voters casting their ballot on Election Day. Among all Republican voters aged 55 or older in Texas, 91% voted early or by mail in 2020.  Among rural older adults in Texas, 67% voted early or by mail in 2020;

  • More than 6 in 10 (62%) of Republican active duty military or veteran voters in Texas voted early, nearly 3 in 10 (29%) of Republican active duty military or veteran voters in Texas voted absentee; and fewer than 1 in 10 (8%) of Republican active duty military or veteran voters in Texas voted on Election Day; and

  • 69% of Republican donors cast early votes and 25% voted by mail statewide.

Similarly, a Secure Democracy analysis of Secretary of State data from the 2020 primary election found primary voters in Texas were also reliant on early and mail voting in 2020:

  • Only 4 in 10 Republican primary voters voted on Election Day;

  • 54% of total Republican primary votes were cast early; and

Republicans cast 57% of all early votes in the 2020 primary election, compared to 37% of early votes cast by Democrats.

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About Secure Democracy

Secure Democracy is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that works to improve election integrity across the United States. We educate policymakers and the public about what it takes to safeguard our voting systems. We collaborate with state leaders, election administrators, election integrity experts, and allies to ensure that all eligible citizens have the freedom to vote how they choose.