WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Thursday, April 13, the Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 1933, a bill that would empower the secretary of state to seize election authority from county officials.
The bill passed on a party line vote, with all Republicans voting in favor and all Democrats voting against.
It now heads to the Republican-controlled House. S.B. 1933 would allow the secretary of state — in Texas, a position appointed by the governor — to take over election administration and voter registration in Texas counties.
In recent years, Texas state officials have clashed with local election administrators who aim to expand voting access, especially in Democratic strongholds like Harris County, home to Houston.
Within the past week, the Texas Senate has advanced other anti-voting bills.
Several were approved by the Senate State Affairs Committee, while others passed the full Senate and moved on to the state House.
Given Republican control of the legislative process in Texas, all of these bills have a good chance at being enacted into law. »
