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The Texas State Assembly approved on Tuesday a bill that seeks a series of restrictive measures of the right to vote in the state, despite opposition from Democrats.
The final version of a draft Republican law called SB1, which will implement new and strict voting rules, is ready to be sent to the Governor’s Desk Greg Abbott , after months of intense partisan battles over how elections should be conducted in the state, according to The Washington Post.
The Chamber approved the measure by 80 votes against 41, and a Republican joined the Democrats in opposition. The Senate, with a Republican majority, followed several hours later with a vote of 18 to 13 on the match line .
The Texas House passed the bill last Friday after more than 12 hours of debate Thursday, but Republicans in the state Senate wanted to remove one of the approved amendments by the House before sending the bill to Abbott.
The vote was a victory for Governor Greg Abbott. The Governor had called two special legislative sessions as part of a long-standing effort to pass the ballot measure, which will take effect in three months.
Following the Senate vote, Abbott said in a statement that it expects for the bill to become law, adding that it will “solidify confidence in the outcome of our elections by making it easier to vote and harder to cheat.”
The legislation that will regulate the right to vote in Texas prohibits that the precincts of vote are open 24 hours, provides more access to election observers partisans who can influence the electoral process and add identification requirements to vote by mail; prohibits officials from submitting unsolicited absentee ballot requests and creates new rules, with possible criminal penalties, for poll workers and people helping voters, according to CBS News .
Also imposes limitations on casting ballots by mail and facilitates the revocation of an election.
Texas Democratic lawmakers, who have fiercely opposed Republican-backed ballot proposals, have alleged that e he bill may make it difficult for minority or disabled voters to vote and is based on the false premise of widespread electoral fraud .
The House Democrats broke the state Assembly quorum during 38 days this summer to prevent the legislature from passing that electoral bill.
The passage of divisive legislation was the last sign of the impact of the attacks of the former president Donald Trump on the integrity of the country’s voting systems , an assault that escalated after its defeat in November 2020.
Since then, Republican lawmakers across the country have echoed his unsubstantiated claims that voter fraud is rampant. Texas will at least join others 17 states that have tightened their rules for casting votes and holding elections since the defeat Trump.