San Antonio Democrats say D.C. trip is ‘necessary to protect our democracy’ – San Antonio Express-News
Less than a week after taking off to Washington, D.C., San Antonio Democratic state representatives are steadfast on their push for federal voting rights legislation.
But they’re keeping their cards close to their chest when it comes to how long they plan to stay.
Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins, D-San Antonio, said her and her colleagues want to stay focused in D.C. and aren’t prepared to talk about their return.
“It is a fluid situation, and we want to make sure we take all the right steps to protect this vote for our people,” Gervin-Hawkins said.
Gov. Greg Abbott said he plans to call another special session starting Aug. 8, according to an interview with CBS DFW.
“We are truly living on borrowed time,” said Rep. Philip Cortez, D-San Antonio.
Seven state House Democrats representing Bexar County hosted a Zoom meeting Saturday afternoon from the Washington Plaza Hotel in D.C., condemning House Bill 3, which they say, if passed, would be voter suppression. Rep. Leo Pacheco, D-San Antonio, was the only Democratic member of Bexar County’s delegation that didn’t attend.
The state representatives say they are meeting with federal lawmakers to encourage the passage of two bills, the “For the People” and the “John Lewis Voting Rights” acts. If passed, these would establish a federal voting standard, pre-empting the state law that Texas Republicans are pushing.
“We need Washington to act and we need them to act now,” Cortez said.
Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, said the trip is far from a “government funded vacation.”
The trip comes with “tremendous sacrifice, both physically, emotionally, financially and mentally,” he said.
“This is something that we believe is necessary to protect our democracy,” Martinez Fischer said, adding that Republican lawmakers had refused to work with them “in good faith.”
Rep. Ina Minjarez, D-San Antonio, said they want to ensure voter accessibility for all Texans.
“It is a sacred right that many have fought and died for,” she said. “This bill takes us back. All of those processes, all of the fights, all we have done in the name of voting rights, this bill takes us back.”
HB 3 is intended to “reduce the likelihood of fraud,” as well as “protect the secrecy of the ballot, promote voter access and ensure that all legally cast ballots are counted,” according to the bill text.
Specifically, the bill bars voters from casting their ballots inside their cars, except for certain exceptions. The bill also requires early voting locations to be open at least nine hours — up from the previously required eight hours. Voting can’t take place before 6 a.m. or after 10 p.m.
This would expand voting hours in many rural parts of the state while limiting more populated counties, including Bexar and Harris counties. It would affect accessibility for shift workers, first responders and other employed Texans that don’t work the typical 9 to 5, according to Minjarez.
The bill also says voting judges cannot remove a poll watcher who violates the law unless they were warned once before. A poll watcher also would be allowed to sit or stand close enough to see election activity.
The bill bans public officials from distributing vote-by-mail applications to those who did not request it.
In September, Bexar County commissioners authorized sending out mail-in ballot applications to more than 150,000 voters who are 65 or older in an effort to lessen their risk of contracting the coronavirus.
The Texas Senate passed a similar version of the bill Tuesday.
“Voter suppression bills either add requirements to vote, or they add more procedures to vote or they create new ways to have votes tossed out,” said Rep. Diego Bernal, D-San Antonio. “The bill at issue here does all three.”
liz.hardaway@hearst.com | Twitter: @liz_hardaway
