Texas' Senators Should Be Ashamed

Our two United States senators, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, shamed themselves last week by voting against even discussing S1, known as the “For the People Act”. The legislation would insure that all states offer early voting for at least 15 consecutive days of early voting for federal elections. The bill also requires that early voting locations be near public transportation, in rural areas and open for at least 10 hours per day. In other words our senators voted against requiring other states to offer similar voting opportunities to what Texas offers.

S1 also requires states to permit voters to register on the day of a federal election, including during early voting, something Texas doesn’t offer but is available in 18 other states plus Washington, D.C. States that allow citizens to register to vote closer to Election Day have higher participation rates. In Texas, at 30 days before election day; we have one of the earliest deadlines in the country, that's the earliest allowed by the National Voter Registration Act.

The “For the People Act” declares the right of citizens to vote in federal elections will not be denied because of a criminal conviction unless a citizen is serving a felony sentence in a correctional facility. The bill requires states and the federal government to notify individuals convicted of state or federal felonies, respectively, of the restoration of their voting rights. Texas offers a variation of this but voting rights aren’t restored until probation etc. is completed. Florida didn’t even offer that until recently when a citizen initiative passed overwhelmingly to restore voting rights then Republicans in the state legislature over-ruled the vote of the people to make it much harder for former convicts to again be able to vote.

S1 requires states to use individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballots and that those ballots are counted by hand or an optical character recognition device. Texas has no standard requirements on recording votes so Guadalupe and Kerr counties purchased machines that comply with this standard but neighboring Comal County spent millions of dollars on machines that don’t use voter-verified paper ballots. Republicans often talk big on election integrity but don’t walk the walk.

S1 prohibits a state from imposing restrictions on an individual’s ability to vote by mail. Texas already restricts vote by mail to voters over 65 and the disabled, in the last legislative session they tried to add a requirement that mail ballot voters provide proof of disability such as a doctor’s note and they’ll probably try again next week when the special session starts as voter suppression is one of the topics Gov. Abbott has called the session to address. 7 states, including heavily Republican Utah, offer all mail voting and people really like it. California also offers it as an option and last year over 85% of presidential election voters there used mail ballots.

S1 ensures equitable and efficient operation of polling places, reducing long lines and wait times for voters. In many areas of the country Republican election officials cause long lines and multi-hour wait times in minority voting precincts by providing too few voting machines while having an abundance in largely white precincts. Cornyn and Cruz voted against addressing this problem.

Our form of government works best when more people participate and feel like their voices are heard. Republicans apparently prefer low voter turnout believing that increases their chances of winning. The shameful behavior of senators Cornyn and Cruz is in line with Republicans across the south and especially here in Texas. They don’t care if government works as long as they retain power.

Published in the Seguin Gazette - June 30, 2021