Special session starts with a playbook for voter restriction
The Voting Rights Act of 1965, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, outlawed discriminatory voting practices that were adopted by several Southern states after the Civil War. It was a crowning piece of legislation amid the civil rights movement — but it is now under attack, with serious implications for Texans.
The Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of Arizona’s discriminatory voting practices, which dilute the power of the Voting Rights Act and place a greater burden on minority groups to prove they face barriers to voting.
Although the decision will directly affect voters in Arizona, it has wider implications for states across the country, including Texas. We, too, could see voter suppression legislation pass in our state, and we must pay heed to the disastrous ramifications. In fact, the special session that began last week for Texas
lawmakers could do just that.
The decision by the Supreme Court in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee affects two provisions of the Voting Rights Act. First, entire ballots can be thrown out if they are cast in the wrong precincts; second, it restricts mail-in ballots from being turned in on behalf of friends or nonrelative neighbors. Importantly, the move by the Supreme Court also severely limits the ability of people to challenge
discriminatory laws and challenge discriminatory hurdles. It gives the states powers to suppress their voters as they see fit.
This means, for example, state legislators could say that a hindrance to voting, such as eliminating early voting on Sundays when many Black churchgoers run “souls to the-polls” drives, is justified. Similarly, state legislatures can now easily eliminate the ability of a friend to drop off mail-in ballots for another friend.
This may seem minor, but it is not. It is critical. Communities of color and those in rural areas often vote this way. The Navajo Nation filed a report in Arizona stating that the new law criminalizes the way in which the Nation has participated in voting for years, and it is “not uncommon for Navajos to ask their neighbors or clan members to deliver their mail.”
This criminalization of voting is also seen here in Texas. The 87th legislative session brought about Senate Bill 7 and Senate Bill 1111, both similar to the laws passed in Arizona and those upheld by the Supreme Court. The bills contain policies that limit extended early voting hours, prohibit drive-thru voting and add restrictions to the type of addresses that can be used when someone registers to vote.
All of these would prove disastrous to many across Texas, including people of color, those with disabilities and people in rural areas. And as the Hispanic population across Texas continues to grow and rural areas are faced with challenges, millions of people will be affected, which could alter the voting landscape in Texas for years to come.
The voter suppression laws amid this most recent legislative session were deemed so discriminatory that in late June six Texas county election offices, including in Bexar County, filed a lawsuit to pause the implementation of SB 1111. Bexar County also saw Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-san Antonio, lead the Democratic walkout on the last day of the legislative session in an effort to block SB 7.
With the Supreme Court ruling looming overhead, it is crucial that Texans take note. If discriminatory voting practices were upheld in Arizona, they could be upheld in Texas. With current voter suppression legislation on the table in the Texas Legislature, the votes of millions of people across our state are at stake. And if Arizona is any indicator, it will be backed by the U.S. Supreme Court. If so, the consequences could be detrimental to the voting rights and opportunities of all Texans.