Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #TXDeservesBetter
Most recents (11)
HAPPENING NOW: The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform is holding a hearing on the urgent need to protect and expand abortion rights and access.
đź”´ Watch the hearing live:
đź”´ Watch the hearing live:
“The right to abortion is rendered meaningless without access.” —@RepMaloney
"Let me be very clear, access to abortion is a freedom that is essential to Americans' ability to control their own bodies and decide their own future.” —@RepMaloney
#AbortionIsEssential
#AbortionIsEssential
#BREAKING: We're suing #Texas. Joined by Whole Woman's Health (@wholewomans) and a broad coalition of abortion providers and others who assist patients in accessing abortion, we’ve filed a lawsuit to block the state's radical new law banning abortion as early as six weeks. 
âť—The Texas law, #SB8, also encourages *anyone* to act as a bounty hunter by awarding $10,000+ to anyone who successfully sues another person for providing or assisting an abortion after six weeks. #SB8 is set to take effect on September 1. #TXDeservesBetter
JUST IN: Texas lawmakers released the final version of voter suppression bill #SB7 under the cover of night on a holiday weekend. The bill will make it much harder and scarier to vote — in a state that’s already the most difficult place to vote in the country.
#TXDeservesBetter
#TXDeservesBetter
Voter suppression bill #SB7 will make voting by mail more difficult and daunting due to new eligibility and documentation requirements.
Voter suppression bill #SB7 will restrict polling hours and eliminate drive-through and 24-hour voting, which were disproportionately used by voters of color and voters with disabilities in the 2020 election.
Our own @jcslattery is about to testify against the anti-voter #HB6 (after many, many hours)! We'll cover his testimony here, but feel free to watch with us too: tlchouse.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.ph…
“Texas in 2020 was the hardest place to vote in the entire country: we have no online voter registration, only a few discrete groups of Texans can vote by mail, and 750 polling places were closed between 2013 and 2019, predominantly in communities of color.” @jcslattery #TXlege
#HB6 would mean that “statements by public officials about the mere existence of vote-by-mail, or explanations about how to apply for and cast a mail ballot, could be interpreted as efforts to encourage (and therefore solicit) people to vote by mail.” @jcslattery #txlege
Happening now: the House Elections Hearing in which #HB6 has been rescheduled is starting. HB 6 is an omnibus anti-voter bill, like SB 7. Watch with us: tlchouse.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.ph… #TXDeservesBetter
Here's what #HB6 does and why we're adamantly against it:
Fact check: The Voting Rights Act specifically protects assistance, because it is used by people with disabilities and those with limited English.
🚨Happening now: #txlege Senate is debating #SB7, the omnibus anti-voting bill that would make voting much more difficult for millions of Texans. Watch with us: tlcsenate.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.ph…
Within a minute of speaking--THAT'S FALSE--SB7 does not create a VBM tracker. It requires SOS to develop an online VBM tracker if there is specific appropriation. Otherwise, it's discretionary by the SOS. An effort to say they created a VBM tracker without definitively doing it.
Fact Check: Sen. Hughes saying that people receiving VBM apps from counties automatically would mislead people into thinking they can vote by mail when they can't- but the forms clearly explain who is eligible and that you should only apply to vote by mail if you are eligible.
Our own @jcslattery is finally getting to testify on all the voting bills in this hearing! You can watch along with us here: tlcsenate.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.ph… #txlege #TXDeservesBetter
James pointing out how the grand majority of these bills, including #SB7, #SB1114, and #SB1235, would make voting harder for people of color, people with disabilities, and elderly voters. #TXDeservesBetter
James correctly points out that this hearing, like the House Elections Committee, has seen Black legislators disrespected by white legislators, and that the rules around invited testimony vs public testimony have primarily benefitted white voices over those of Texans of color.
Curious about #SB7? Check out this thread. #SB7 targets voters w/ disabilities, voters of color & civil servants by enacting discriminatory voting requirements, decreasing the number and hrs of polling locations and intimidating voters with fear of criminal prosecution. (1/6)
#SB7 requires voters with disabilities to “prove” they have a disability w/ medical documentation when they apply to vote by mail. No other vote-by-mail-eligible voters are subject to this requirement. The time & money it takes to obtain documentation is a de facto poll tax (2/6)
#SB7 gives poll watchers new rights to harass and intimidate voters, which will almost certainly be weaponized against voters of color. The bill restricts expanded voting methods, which are also critical for voters of color, working ppl & those with family responsibilities. (3/6)
Now laying out the omnibus anti-voter bill #SB7, which we'll be testifying against later today. This bill harms Texans in many different ways, including allowing partisan poll watchers to record people trying to cast their ballots. #TXDeservesBetter
Similarly to yesterday's House Elections Committee, there seems to be reticence by white committee members to listen to the concerns of a Black fellow legislator (Sen. West) on SB 7 They're letting him ask questions, but there's already been one attempt to get him to speak less.
Sen. Zaffirini points out that there's nothing in this bill prohibiting partisan poll watchers from uploading the videos they take of voters onto Youtube and similar websites.
Need a breakdown of #HB6? We’ve got you covered. HB 6 attacks the most vulnerable voting communities: the elderly, ppl with disabilities, ppl of color, those with limited English proficiency & those who vote by mail. #TXDeservesBetter #txlege (1/4)
Not only does #HB6 weaponize fear of criminal prosecution, it further complicates confusing rules and laws that voters may find hopelessly impossible to navigate. This undermines the voting rights of our most vulnerable communities. (2/4)
Fact: 72%+ of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s criminal voter prosecutions are against Black and Latinx individuals. #HB6 would give the Attorney General’s Office another avenue to target BIPOC communities trying to vote. #TXDeservesBetter #txlege (3/4)
Texans are in for an intense week in voting rights at #txlege- some of the biggest voter suppression bills are getting their first hearings. Here's what's ahead, starting with today's Sen State Affairs hearing, where SB 7 will be heard.
txcivilrights.org/stop-sb6-hb7/ #TXDeservesBetter
txcivilrights.org/stop-sb6-hb7/ #TXDeservesBetter
Last week Gov. Abbott held a press conference on SB 7 and some of its fellow voter suppression bills. The bill not only makes it harder for elderly Texans and Texans with disabilities to vote, but allows intimidation tactics at polling places.
texasobserver.org/the-lege-this-…
texasobserver.org/the-lege-this-…
Of the bills that were discussed in the press conference, SB 7 and HB 6 are getting the most attention, as both are huge bills with devastating consequences for Texas voters. But unfortunately, SB 7 isn't the only voter suppression bill being heard today.
txcivilrights.org/wp-content/upl…
txcivilrights.org/wp-content/upl…
