Legalizing voter intimidation
May 14, 2021 |
A group opposing new voter legislation gather outside the House Chamber at the Texas Capitol in Austin on May 6. (Eric Gay/Associated Press)
A bill being rammed through the legislature has a number of provisions that are intended to suppress the vote of LBTQ and other minority voters
DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
State Rep. Jessica Gonzalez has been working overtime this session fighting off not only anti-transgender bills, but, as vice chair of the Committee on Elections, fighting off voter suppression bills, too.
Along with three other committee members, including Rep. Michelle Beckley, D-Carrollton, Gonzalez has written to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, asking him to have the civil rights division of the Department of Justice “monitor the proceedings of the House Elections Committee and the Texas House for the remainder of the session” after committee Chair Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, on April 29 forced a vote on one such bill, Senate Bill 7, without advanced notice and without allowing time for public input.