RALLY FOR RIGHTS
Thousands demonstrate at Texas Capitol, targeting voter restrictions
Civil rights advocates, politicians and celebrities gathered again at the Texas Capitol on Saturday to rally in favor of voting rights, as Democrats hope to keep momentum with just a week left before the end of the special legislative session in Austin.
The rally, which drew several thousand attendees, marked the end of a Selmastyle march to the Capitol — a 27-mile journey from Georgetown to Austin that activists split over four days. It was organized by the Poor People’s Campaign, a group inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., and is at least the fourth such demonstration that’s taken place at the Capitol since May.
As demonstrators finished the last leg of their march, they greeted a crowd in front of the Capitol holding signs: “Texas deserves better,” “It’s about us,” “We care, we vote.” They sang along with the performers on the center stage as they belted out the labor movement anthem “We Shall Not Be Moved.”
“The right time to do right is right now,” the Rev. William J. Barber II, a national civil rights leader who spearheaded the march, repeated throughout the rally.
It culminated with a live performance by Willie Nelson, who sang the classics “Whiskey River” and “Good Hearted Woman.” His set ended with a newer song, “Vote ’Em Out,” which opens with the line: “If you don’t like who’s in there, vote ’em out; that’s what Election Day is all about.”
The marchers have demands ranging from a $15 minimum wage to immigration reform, but their most pressing concern is new voting restrictions that have been
proposed or passed in GOP-led states. Texas, which already has some of the nation’s strictest laws on voter registration and mail ballots, is among them.
This summer, Republican leaders at the Capitol are pushing a bill they say would improve election security. But critics call it another attempt to make it more difficult for all Texans — but especially Black and Latino voters — to cast their ballots.
Marchers approached the Capitol on Saturday carrying a lilac-colored casket, which Barber said represented that “extremists in statehouses all over the country are trying to have a funeral for our voting rights and living wage.”
“They’re trying to bury them, but we are the moral resurrection, and it will not happen on our watch,” he said.
Speakers included faith leaders, voting rights advocates and people who said they’d be affected by the Texas legislation. The lineup also featured Julián Castro, the former San Antonio mayor and U.S. secretary of housing and urban development, and Beto O’Rourke, the former congressman from El Paso who’s considering a run for governor.
“We are the courage this country needs,” O’Rourke said.
The rally comes at a critical time for Texas House Democrats, who are still riding the high of a headline-grabbing “quorum break” that has blocked the GOP’s voting bill, at least for now.
More than 50 Democratic legislators fled to Washington, D.C., last month to deny Republicans the quorum needed to pass the voting bill. The AWOL Democrats hope to buy time for Congress to pass federal voting legislation that would nullify the proposed state-level changes. They’ve pledged to stay in Washington until the special session in Austin ends Aug. 7.
But it seems inevitable that the Republican bill will eventually pass, despite the stalling tactics. Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, has pledged to call as many special sessions as needed until a voting measure passes — and will start the next one as soon as Aug. 8.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the GOP head of the Senate, declared last month that “this bill is going to pass.”
The latest version of the legislation, though much narrower than a bill that prompted an earlier Democratic walkout in the House on May 30, would still touch nearly every corner of Texas election law.
It would outlaw voting methods piloted in Harris County last fall, including drive-thru and 24-hour voting, and introduce new ID requirements for absentee ballots. The bill also removes some restrictions on partisan poll watchers, which Democrats say could lead to voter intimidation.
But the measure also expands the number of counties that need to keep polls open for at least 12 hours during the last week of early voting, and it introduces a new process for voters to correct absentee ballot signatures so their votes are not discarded. It also would standardize voting hours across the state, opening a voting window starting at 6 a.m. and ending at either 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. (The Senate version of the legislation dictates 9 p.m.; the House bill, 10 p.m.)
A small group of Republican counterprotesters was also present Saturday, setting up on the sidewalk in front of the Capitol. As the voting rights rally went on, they chanted: “One person, one vote.” Their signs sent clear messages, too: “Democrats don’t stand a chance when it’s hard to cheat and easy to vote,” “Read the bill. Democrats lie.”
State Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, who authored the Senate version of the legislation, said in a Friday interview that criticism of the measure comes down to partisan “generalizations” on social media that don’t necessarily reflect the bill’s language or its impact. He said Texas’ legislation has been unfairly lumped in with more farreaching measures in other states.
“This is an ongoing process for us, but they’re trying to drag us into this national debate about other states, what they’re doing,” Hughes said. “And so, yes, it’s frustrating. When we’re able to focus on what is in Senate Bill 1, people are fine.”