The Texas state authorities is poised to enact a brand new regulation giving the governor-appointed Secretary of State the flexibility to overturn elections within the state’s largest county.
The laws, SB-1993, handed within the Texas State Senate on Tuesday by a vote of 19-12. In accordance with the textual content of the invoice, the Secretary of State, a place appointed by Republican Governor Gregg Abbott and at the moment held by Jane Nelson, would have the authority to throw election ends in counties whereby 2 p.c or extra of the polling areas ran out of poll paper for greater than an hour. Within the occasion that an election was thrown out, a brand new one would then be held.
The particular parameters of the invoice have been impressed by incidents in Harris County in the course of the 2022 midterm elections, during which 26 out of the county’s 782 polling areas have been affected, in keeping with the Houston Chronicle. Regardless of the comparatively small variety of areas affected, the problem was seized upon by Texas Republicans, a few of whom claimed that the shortages value them their races, in the end resulting in the push for laws that resulted in SB-1993.
The Texas Senate simply voted 19-12 to present Gov. Greg Abbott’s appointee the authority to overturn elections in Harris County and name for a brand new election if they’ve points like they did in 2022. https://t.co/hCEnTTCwqP
— Jeremy Wallace (@JeremySWallace) May 2, 2023
“There is no such thing as a motive, there isn’t a excuse why we won’t competently run our elections and have ample poll paper,” Republican state Senator Mayes Middleton, one of many invoice’s co-authors, mentioned, in keeping with the Houston Chronicle.
Whereas the textual content of the laws doesn’t explicitly point out Harris County, the authority it will vest within the Secretary of State applies solely to counties with populations increased than 2.7 million. Harris is the most important county in Texas, with almost 4.7 million residents, and the one one to satisfy this requirement, with the second-largest, Dallas County, boasting solely 2.6 million residents. Harris County has additionally tipped Democratic in each presidential election since 2008.
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“Does that appear form of biased to you?” state Senator Borris Miles, who relies in Harris County, mentioned in regards to the invoice throughout a debate on Monday. “We’re simply going to choose on my county?”
Middleton countered, stating that Harris County was certainly being singled out due to the paper scarcity final November.
“You have to provide sufficient poll paper,” Middleton mentioned. “There is not any motive that ought to occur once more. It is actually a easy factor. You simply ship sufficient paper.”
Republican and Democratic lawmakers have additionally squabbled over whether or not or not the invoice particularly constitutes giving the flexibility to “overturn” elections.
“You wish to vest in a political appointee the flexibility to decide as as to if or not an election ought to be overturned and reheld?” Democratic state Senator Royce West requested throughout the identical.
“I might disagree about overturning—you are calling a brand new election so voters get to vote once more,” Middleton responded. “You get the chance to vote once more. That is very totally different from the way in which you’re describing it.”
Abbott has beforehand signaled his assist of such laws. Newsweek reached out to his press workplace by way of e-mail for remark.