In a fiery tackle Tuesday morning, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) scolded American Airways, Main League Baseball, and different companies for meddling in politics whereas defending SB7, the Senate’s recently passed Election and Ballot Security bill.
Opponents stated Senate Bill 7 limits polling hours, eliminates drive-through voting, and contains some adjustments to the mail-in poll course of. Patrick stated the invoice will not be about voter suppression, as opponents have stated, however moderately voter safety and that the invoice is required as a result of “Individuals not belief the system and a rustic the place voters don’t belief the system is a rustic in peril.”
“Folks in America have misplaced religion of their elections, within the end result, and we now have to resolve that difficulty on this nation and on this state and that is why Senate Invoice 7 is required,” Patrick stated.
Patrick stated he was, “uninterested in lies and the nest of liars who proceed to repeat them. “Nothing has modified within the election code relating to early voting. Nothing.”
“Let me repeat this for the media and the Democrats so that they’ll cease mendacity about it, we now have not modified any dates on early voting. It nonetheless begins two weeks earlier than the election — 12 days of early voting.”
Patrick added SB7 makes mail-in voting simpler for seniors or the disabled by making signature verification now one signature for comparability for an extended time frame as an alternative of evaluating two signatures inside the final six years.
The lieutenant governor stated they have been standardizing polling locations, not decreasing them, saying the variety of polling locations would rely upon the variety of eligible voters within the space.
The lieutenant governor took offense to criticism of the invoice saying it calls into query his integrity and that of the 18 Republican members who voted for the invoice. He particularly talked about a name from a consultant of American Airways whom Patrick stated referred to as his workplace to say they’d be opposing SB7 however hadn’t learn the invoice.
“So that you’re calling us to inform us it is not private towards the lieutenant governor or the governor or the 18 members who voted for the invoice, however you have not learn the invoice and also you’re calling us out for suppressing the vote? Nicely, let me let you know what Mr. American Airways, I take it personally. You are questioning my integrity and the integrity of the governor and the integrity of the 18 Republicans who voted for this. Once you counsel that we’re attempting to suppress the vote you are in essence between the strains calling us racist and that won’t stand! That won’t stand! You may have a proper to your opinion, however not less than learn the invoice.”
Patrick stated the state has achieved lots to lure companies to the state by means of incentives and coverage and that companies just like the airline or MLB, which lately pulled the All-Star sport out of Georgia over a brand new voting legislation there, ought to rethink weighing in on politics.
“You have meddled in lots of points currently … keep out of issues you do not know something about and if you wish to get entangled then you definitely’re taking that threat. You may have a proper to your opinion, however learn the rattling invoice earlier than you give one. And do not insult us, ‘We do not need you to take this personally.’ You understand why they stated that? They could come down the road the subsequent session and have a invoice they need us to go for them. Good luck!” Patrick stated. “We’ll deal with them pretty like we at all times will, however as Gov. Abbott stated on FOX earlier this morning, we now have introduced lots of companies to Texas. They arrive right here as a result of we’re the perfect state to do enterprise in but when they suppose they will assault the legislature on points they haven’t any data about and are available to us with their hand out, properly that is simply not going to be the way in which we do enterprise. Do not, on one hand, say “Thanks Texas” whereas then again slap us within the face. We’re not going to place up with it anymore.”
Here’s what Patrick says SB7 does:
- Requires a paper backup for each poll.
- Constant guidelines statewide to depend ballots on time so counts do not take days or perhaps weeks.
- Will ship ballots to solely voters who at present stay on the tackle.
- Disabled voters who vote curbside may have the identical protections of privateness as individuals who vote in individual.
- All communications with election machine distributors will probably be topic to open document requests.
- No voting machine could be linked to the web to curtail hacking.
- No vote totals can change as soon as the votes are solid; says the disks inside voting machines shouldn’t be in a position to be rewritten.
- Counties over 100,000 will probably be required to stay stream their counting course of.
- Will standardize polling places based mostly on the variety of registered voters within the space.
“Senate Invoice 7 will not be voter suppression, it is voter safety. If Beto and Castro and Turner and Hidalgo and all these other people on the market protesting with their fists within the air that that is voter suppression, they’re mendacity to you. Allow them to level it out within the invoice,” Patrick stated.
“That is what occurs when the media would not give the information. That is what occurs whenever you let folks lie,” Patrick stated. “Something I stated right here as we speak, maintain me to it. All the pieces I stated as we speak is true. Each truth I gave you is appropriate. If I am off a quantity and I misspoke, I will appropriate it. However I am assured of all the pieces I instructed you as we speak is appropriate.”
Election safety has been a prime precedence for Patrick because the Senate started its session earlier this 12 months.
“Sustaining the integrity of our elections is important to preserving public belief so our democracy can flourish, and that’s why I’ve made election safety a prime precedence once more this legislative session. SB 7 will strengthen the general public’s religion in our electoral course of and make sure that each Texan is aware of that after they solid their poll, their vote is safe. I congratulate Sen. Hughes and the Texas Senate for passing these complete reforms,” stated Patrick in a press release final week.
On the Senate flooring, State Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas) said there was a lack of input from civil rights groups into the bill.
“We’ve urged to you totally different cases on this explicit invoice smacks of suppression. You continue to haven’t heard us. I hope in the future that you just hear us not solely hear us however take heed to us,” stated West.
Texas Democratic Celebration Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa blasted the laws, and promised motion, saying “Texas Republicans are delusional in the event that they anticipate anybody to just accept this laws and not using a struggle. Democrats, allies, and voting rights advocates are talking as one, and our message is obvious: when Republicans try and silence Texans, we solely get louder. We are going to struggle tooth and nail to cease this invoice from being signed into legislation, and whether it is, we are going to see Republicans in court docket. An assault on our proper to vote is an assault on our communities and our future. We is not going to be silenced.”
