Update: SB 1070 Revived, Your Voice Matters!
May 17, 2023 | Austin, TX
UPDATE on May 23: Passed the House!
UPDATE as of May 17, 11 pm:
Election integrity activists made their voices heard after SB 1070’s House sponsor, Representative Jacey Jetton (R-HD 26) effectively killed it on the floor yesterday when he moved to postpone the bill for discussion until July 28. The bill was sent back to committee and reported favorably without amendments again this afternoon.
“Not much time but now they’ll say they tried,” Erin Anderson, Texas Scorecard.
SB 1070 - House Elections Committee reported favorably without amendments (again) on May 17.
Original Post from 1:30 pm:
Election Integrity Bill Death by the House
Why would a Republican legislator kill his own election integrity bill? That is what seems to have happened yesterday when SB 1070 came to the House floor for a vote.
In short order, Democrats submitted a Point of Order and the usual cadre of members convened to discuss. But before it could be ruled upon, Representative Jacey Jetton of District 26 moved to postpone his own bill for discussion until July 28, effectively killing it.
“The legislation effectively bars Texas from participating in a controversial voter roll interstate crosscheck program, known as ERIC, by setting new cost limits and security requirements for any program used by the state.
Texas law requires the state to participate in a crosscheck program, but some GOP officials and election integrity advocates want the state to withdraw from ERIC due to concerns about the program’s costs, data security, and possible partisan access to voter data.”
SB 1070 by Senator Bryan Hughes passed through the Senate without delay, but then languished in the House for a month before finally being sent on for a House vote.
What exactly is going on in Austin?