After A Bitter Fight With Democrats, Texas Republicans Pass New Voting Restrictions

Texas Republicans have passed a new restrictive voting measure, sending the legislation to GOP Gov. Greg Abbott.

The passage of SB 1 on Tuesday comes in the second special session called by Abbott, following historic efforts by House Democrats to deny Republicans a quorum and block the changes.

Updated August 31, 2021 at 6:28 PM ET

The Texas House passed its bill last week. The legislation then went to conference committee and emerged with some changes.

Among its changes, the legislation in Texas would add new ID requirements for people seeking to vote by mail; add new criminal penalties to the voting process; empower partisan poll watchers; and ban drive-through and 24-hour voting options, steps taken last year by Harris County, home to Houston.

In a statement, Abbott said: "Senate Bill 1 will solidify trust and confidence in the outcome of our elections by making it easier to vote and harder to cheat. I look forward to signing Senate Bill 1 into law, ensuring election integrity in Texas."

Proven cases of voter or election fraud are exceedingly rare.

Once Abbott signs the legislation, Texas will become the latest GOP-run state to enact new voting restrictions, joining Georgia, Florida, Arizona and others. [Copyright 2021 NPR]