Richie: House Republicans Continue Assault on Voting Rights
Below is a statement from Texas Democratic Party Chair Boyd Richie on the State House passage of HB 626, legislation making it harder for Texans to register to vote and implementing provisions that would result in thousands of eligible voters being purged from the voting rolls:
"Last night, House Republicans continued their assault on voting rights by passing legislation that will make registering to vote a hardship for many Texans. The requirements called for by HB 626 would lead to thousands of eligible voters being purged from voting rolls, echoing the days when Jim Crow laws and poll taxes were the law of the land.
This legislation is part of a larger national Karl Rove-Republican voter suppression campaign aimed at keeping certain groups of people away from the polls as a means of winning elections. And like the photo ID bill House Republicans passed last week, HB 626 is a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. Despite Republican's fraudulent claims of rampant "voter fraud," there is no evidence to support their so-called voter fraud "epidemic" of systematic voting by non-citizens.
Instead of putting up barriers to the polls, we should be giving every eligible Texan the opportunity to cast their vote. But with this cynical voter suppression bill, Republicans are forcing people to jump through hoops in order to exercise their constitutional right to vote."
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