Houston Chronicle by Cayla Harris Nov. 9, 2020
After an election season unlike any other — one that saw dozens of lawsuits concerning voter access and a record 11.4 million Texans casting ballots — state legislators are preparing for a partisan battle over laws that govern early voting, absentee ballots and related matters during the upcoming legislative session.
Monday was the first day to pre-file bills for the 87th session, scheduled to begin Jan. 12. As of 1 p.m., more than 500 bills have been filed in both chambers so far — and thousands more are expected over the next several weeks. While just a small fraction of those bills will make it to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk, the influx of legislation gives an early hint at the priorities weighing on lawmakers’ minds this year, with dozens of bills addressing health care, racial injustice, abortion, redistricting and election law.
The voting bills come from both sides of the aisle, with Democrats generally trying to expand voter access and Republicans limiting options in the name of election security. Democratic Reps. Lina Ortega of El Paso and Terry Meza of Irving, alongside Sen. José Menéndez of San Antonio, for example, introduced a bill that would give all registered voters the option to cast mail-in ballots during the early voting period.
More:
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/Lawmakers-will-revisit-Texas-election-code-15713413.php
