Voting in Texas has never been easy.
Prior the 2020 presidential election, political scientists from the likes of Northern Illinois University and Wuhan University in China compiled a “cost-of-voting index” that ranked states by the ease in which residents could both register and cast their ballot. The analysis placed Texas dead last, citing the state’s tough voter identification laws, unforgiving registration deadlines, and general “restrictive electoral climate,” all of which made it the hardest state to vote in in the entire country.
And, of course, that was before Texas’ most recent election law overhaul even went into effect.
Despite persistent warnings from civil and voting rights advocates, the state’s Republican-controlled legislature passed the sweeping and far-reaching Senate Bill 1 into law in September 2021. Among other things, the law banned drive-thru and overnight voting, further tightened ID requirements, and allowed partisan poll watchers new freedoms. Additionally, assistants who work with Texans that need help filling out their ballots can now face criminal charges. This type of assistance is most frequently used by voters with disabilities or physical needs, but non-English speaking voters and those who struggle to read and write are also entitled to aid in the state.
Political standing aside, interpretations of the new law shared in a base-level understanding: It was going to get even harder to earn an “I voted” sticker. According to Texas Republicans, the shift was necessary, as the GOP beefs up election integrity protections, citing murky and still unproven reports of rampant voter fraud. For local grassroots voting organizations, however, the focus remains on those who have taken the most direct hit under the new regulations—everyday Texans trying to make sure their vote gets counted.
“All Texas voters are impacted, but especially voters of color, low-income voters, young voters, older voters, and voters with a disability,” says Grace Chimene, president for the League of Women Voters of Texas, a nonpartisan nonprofit that works to educate voters on election issues. Chimene says the law spurred an immediate change, pointing to the March primary election, when 25,000 voters had their vote-by-mail ballots rejected, more than 1,800 from Austin-area counties alone. Those voters were mostly 65 and older, or voters with a disability.
Chimene also says not enough is being done to brief voters on the new requirements or properly prepare them for a successful visit to the polls. In response, the League is taking voter education into their own hands by providing extensive online voter guides and SB 1 explainers. “We’re working with the Center for Civic Design to create more resources provided in simple, plain language,” Chimene says of the group’s efforts.
Those materials have set a new standard and are often utilized by fellow nonprofit organizations like REV UP Texas, which works with Texans with disabilities to ensure they’re well represented within the voting body. Bob Kafka, the group’s statewide coordinator, echoes concerns that Texas’ disabled community is acutely impacted by the new voting legislation, which is breeding further distrust between them and local government. Although it would later be written out, an earlier version of the election bill included even more voting barriers for Texans with disabilities. “They were going to require the person to prove that they had a disability,” Kafka recalls. “It was so blatantly discriminatory; it would almost be like a poll tax. I use a motorized wheelchair, and I would have had to go to a doctor to somehow prove that I have a disability even though I’ve been in this wheelchair for almost 50 years.”
Bob Kafka is working with disabled Texans to ensure they’re not impacted by the new voting laws.
The irony that Gov. Greg Abbott, a well-known member of the state’s disabled community, has continued to champion the new voting law isn’t lost on Kafka. “My disability and spinal cord injury is similar to Gov. Abbott’s. You would think, you know, as a person with a disability, there would be some identity there.”
On top of ongoing efforts to educate voters on their rights and available aid, REV UP Texas will host its third Texas Disability Issues Forum in Austin this September ahead of the November election. The event includes voter registration drives and allows high-profile candidates running for office in the state an opportunity to speak on how their platforms relate to disability issues. While Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke has indicated his plans to attend, Kafka says the group has yet to hear back from Abbott’s office.
Kafka’s main advice to voters who are confused about new voting requirements or who have had their mail-in ballots rejected is to reach out. Whether that be to REV UP, the League of Women Voters, or to your county’s election office, he repeats the importance of not being deterred by the first hurdle.
“Let someone know,” he says. “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.”
The Cutthroat Vote
SB 1’s ramifications on Texas elections and the rest of the country.
- 702, 257: Texans that lacked either a driver’s license or Social Security number on file, as of Dec. 2021.
- 8.2%: The rate at which mail-in ballots in Travis County were rejected during March’s primary election.
- 12.4%: The rate at which mail-in ballots in Texas were rejected during March’s primary election.
- 1%: Comparatively, the rate at which mail-in ballots were rejected during the 2020 presidential election.
- 27: Other states considering similar legislation, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
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