Wednesday, September 8th, 2021
Governor signs law
Voting is getting harder in Texas
Since Donald Trump lost the presidential election last year, Republicans have been pushing for changes in the electoral law in the states they govern. The governor of Texas signed a law to this effect – despite fierce opposition from the Democrats.
Despite bitter opposition resistance in Texas, the Republican governor of the US state has signed a bill to amend controversial electoral law. Governor Greg Abbott announced Tuesday that it would make fraud more difficult. The Democrats accuse the Republicans of restricting the right to vote.
Among other things, the law is intended to expand the power of partisan election observers and prohibit certain voting methods – such as voting in drive-in polling stations, i.e. from the car. It should also be prohibited, for example, that authorities send unsolicited applications for a postal vote to eligible voters.
In protest against the planned reform, several members of the Democratic Republic in Texas had temporarily withdrawn to the US capital Washington in a highly unusual move. This made the House of Representatives in the state temporarily incapacitated. In the end, however, both Houses of Parliament in Texas approved the plans with a majority of Republicans.
Higher hurdles primarily deter minorities
The prominent democratic lawyer Marc Elias announced on Twitter that his team was going to court against the “Voter Suppression Act”. The law is due to come into force in December. In the USA, the right to vote, which is largely shaped by the states, is extremely competitive. Several republican-ruled states have already passed regulations or are pursuing regulations that critics believe would make voting more difficult.
When the barriers to voting are higher, minority groups tend to stay at home in the US – and these groups are often more likely to vote for Democrats. Republicans, on the other hand, argue that their reforms are only about making electoral fraud more difficult. Election fraud is very rare in the USA and can sometimes be punished with long prison sentences.
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