Listen to concerns about potential racist impact of election bill
One has to wonder what Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan was thinking on Thursday when he asked his colleagues in the chamber to censor themselves during a coming debate over Senate Bill 1, the controversial “election integrity” measure that Republicans have been pushing for months.
“Members, this is a reminder to everyone to be civil and respectful of our colleagues as we debate SB1,” said Phelan, a Beaumont Republican, as Democrats lined up at the back mic to debate the legislation. “The chair would appreciate members not using the word ‘racism’ this afternoon.”
It’s uncomfortable for Texas Republicans to hear that their efforts to make it harder for certain people to vote is tantamount to racism, but — according to several court rulings — they have a track record of trying to disenfranchise Black and Latino voters.
Democrats have argued that SB1 would reduce the influence of people of color in Texas, and potentially limit the gains they have made in registration, participation, and representation in recent election cycles. The bill would, among other things, ban drive-thru and 24-hour voting, which were pioneered by Harris County last year to keep voters safe during the pandemic and to boost participation. The measure also would add identification requirements to mail-in ballots, bulk up protections for partisan poll watchers, and create a slew of new electionrelated crimes.
This push followed the Democrats’
success in states like Arizona and Georgia, which delivered them control of the White House and U.S. Senate, as well as Donald Trump’s continued peddling of the “Big Lie” that he won the 2020 presidential election.
Concerns about potentially discriminatory impacts were bound to come up during the floor debate on SB1, which spurred most of the chamber’s Democrats to break quorum at
the end of this year’s regular legislative session, in May, and then again during the first special session, in June. Several dozen Democrats who fled Austin to block the new voting restrictions have yet to return to the Texas Capitol for this second special session, arguing there’s no room for negotiation when it comes to an issue as fundamental as voting rights.
Those who returned have said they want to have a voice in the process, if nothing else — and really, Republicans shouldn’t begrudge them that.
State Rep. Rafael Anchía, a Dallas Democrat, offered an amendment to strike its enacting clause, meaning it could never take effect — a doomed amendment, but one that gave him a chance to review the recent history of voting rights in Texas.
Voter suppression, Anchía noted, doesn’t always involve bullies such as the late Alabama police commissioner “Bull” Connor with police dogs and fire hoses, or other overt abuses endured by Black and Latino Americans before the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Indeed, in the 21st century, the GOP-led state of Texas has been dealt several setbacks in court after passing legislation that was found to have a discriminatory effect on Hispanic and AfricanAmerican voters.
“I’m sorry that when we talk about ‘discriminatory impact,’ it bothers people,” said Anchía, who also serves as the chairman
of the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus. “Those are not my words. Those are the words of independent federal judges across this country, when they’ve seen what this Legislature has done to voting rights over the last 10 years.”
State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, an Austin Democrat, posed a question to Anchía.
“When you speak about the disproportionate impact, are you talking about a disproportionate impact on people of color?” she asked.
Anchía: “Specifically, courts
have pointed out over and over and over again intentional discrimination against AfricanAmericans, intentional discrimination against Latinos, intentional discrimination against people of color…These are not my words. These are three federal courts across this country making ten findings of that intentional discrimination.”
Hinojosa: “Intentional discrimination against people of a certain race — is that racism?” Anchía: “That is…”
Phelan interjected, “Miss Hinojosa…”
Anchía continued, “Those words, intentional discrimination, I think, can be fairly characterized in that manner.”
Phelan continued, over the murmurs of the members and the spectators in the gallery.
“We can talk about racial impacts of this legislation without accusing members of this body of being racist,” the Republican speaker said, to a smattering of applause.
Notably, Hinojosa hadn’t actually called any of her colleagues racists. And the point she and Anchía were making was quite salient. The Republicans supporting SB1 have continuously argued that they want to make it “easier to vote”, as well as “harder to cheat.” Some may believe that is what the bill, which officially passed the Texas House on Friday, will accomplish. It is nonetheless the case that over the past decade, Republicans have passed several “election integrity” measures, as well as redistricting maps, that have run into trouble in court.
Whether you agree with the Democrats on this legislation or not, it’s risible to suggest that the word “racism” be barred from any discussion of voting rights in Texas. Our state history includes a sad legacy of white primaries and literacy tests and poll taxes — the latter of which were collected into the 1960s, and paid by Texans including state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, the Houston Democrat.
Are Democrats supposed to simply forget about all of that, in the name of preserving “civility” or “decorum” or any of the other values Republicans purport to embrace when they try to tamp down dissent?
Perhaps Republicans should simply pass a law banning Texans from using the word “racism,” or any other words that might discomfit voters in GOP primaries — “climate change,” perhaps, or “vaccines.”
Alternatively, they could show their colleagues the courtesy and respect they demand for themselves — and let Democrats express their concerns in whatever terms they deem accurate.