88th Texas Legislature: Voter Suppression Bills to Watch
Glenda Wolin, VP Voter Services | Published on 2/15/2023
Many bills that would make voting more difficult have been filed in the Texas Legislature this session. That doesn’t guarantee that they will come up for a vote, but please contact your local representative or senator and urge them to vote against these if they do. These are just a few of the bills:
- SB823 allows the Secretary of State to suspend a county elections administrator if they believe there is good cause, and to appoint a new administrator for the county who remains in that position until the Secretary of State believes the issues have been resolved.
- HB1877 creates a state election marshal appointed by the Secretary of State, who appoints local marshals, who can seize voted ballots, signature rosters, other election records and equipment if they believe an election law has been violated. They may also bring criminal charges.
- SB512/HB 2020 requires people who vote by mail to include a thumbprint on a card that accompanies their ballot, once a method is created to obtain the thumbprints of as many voters as possible.
To find names and contact information for your legislators, look up your address and zip code in the "
Find Your Elected Officials" tool on the Take Action website provided by the League of Women Voters of Texas.