AUSTIN, Texas — Members of the Texas House of Representatives continue to debate a contentious election reform bill and its dozens of accompanying amendments late into the evening Thursday.
The bill sparked a division within the Texas House which led to a walkout by members of the Texas House Democratic Caucus last month.
The walkout brought business in the Texas legislature to a standstill for 38 days until a quorum was restored last week by the return of three Democrats from the Houston area.
The debates on Thursday produced a handful of heated exchanges among members.
House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) banned the word “racism” from being spoken on the floor during the debates.
“When you act in a certain way that discriminates against a certain group, is that racism?” asked Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D-Austin) during a debate in defiance of the speaker’s request.
Several Democrats have called the proposed election reforms racist as they said they believe it would disproportionately prevent minority voters from accessing the polls.
Republicans said the measures are meant to prevent fraudulent voting and preserve privacy at the polls.
Senate Bill 1, in its current form, would prohibit drive-thru voting, 24-hour voting, criminalize the unsolicited distribution of mail-in ballots and allow poll watchers to supervise elections and voting in progress.
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“One of the purposes should be to increase the voter turnout in Texas,” said Rep. Harold Dutton (D-Houston).
Dutton proposed several amendments to the bill on Thursday, including the right for local governments to declare a holiday on Election Day and allowing for county jails to serve as polling places for inmates. All of Dutton’s amendments failed to be adopted.
Democrats also proposed an amendment that would allow students who attend public state universities to use their college identifications as a form of ID when casting ballots.
The proposed measure failed.
Democrats criticized current Texas voting rules that allow for someone to use their concealed handgun license to vote, but not a valid student identification.
In another amendment, Democrats sought to allow those exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms to cast drive-thru ballots from their vehicles. The measure failed.
During a heated exchange, Republican representatives brought up public comments made by Rep. Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas) wherein he stated that mail-in ballot fraud was the most prevalent form of voting fraud in Texas.
Anchia said the comments were made several years ago and were taken out of context.
A final vote on Senate Bill 1 is expected to occur on Thursday once the presentation of amendments and debates have concluded.
The bill is expected to pass on the condition that representatives vote along party lines.
