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Texas House braces for fight over GOP voting measure
After a relatively quiet month, the political fight over GOP voting measures will resume in a big way Thursday when the Texas House begins debate on a sweeping bill that would create new election-related crimes, boost penalties for existing crimes and raise the profile of partisan poll watchers.
House Bill 6, which has been waiting in the wings since early April, is among the first items of new business scheduled for House action, and both sides are preparing for a slugfest in which Republicans, as the majority, hold the upper hand.
Democrats and civil rights groups are rallying opponents, arguing that HB 6 is a dangerous overreaction to the GOP-sponsored myth that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump.
Show me your maps : 2021 Texas redistricting starts with less oversight, transparency concerns
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Eric Gay, STF / AP
With vital U.S. Census Bureau data delayed until September at the earliest, the once-in-a decade redrawing of Texas political maps is already off to a rocky start all while Texans have been increasingly vocal in demands for increased public access to mapmaking, a process that’s historically been closed to the public.
Since January, Texans have signed up in droves to testify virtually in regional hearings held by the Senate’s Special Committee on Redistricting. A single hearing in March had over a hundred witnesses, ranging from high school students to retirees and spanning every major demographic group in the state.