Background
2021 was a very politically controversial year for Texas, as the presidential election occurred in 2020 when the Democratic candidate was chosen to lead the country. Many people, especially those with conservative or Republican political affiliations, thought he cheated to win. This resentment led the Texas House of Representatives to pass Senate Bill 1, which contained voting restrictions.
To be more specific, some sections of this law prohibited 24-hour and drive-thru voting and introduced vote-by-mail ID mandates (Bradner, 2021). These initiatives aimed to make voting procedures fairer and transparent and make the election process fairer. However, this measure partially corrupted Texas’s legislative branch, so this part of Senate Bill 1 must be changed.
Analysis of the Issue
There is a reason why voting restrictions should be considered systemic factors that corrupt governing entities in Texas. According to Morris (2023), “the lawmakers most likely to sponsor these bills come from the white bastions of diverse and diversifying states” (p. 441). Texas is one of these states, and the politicians want to stop the diversification of their homeland. To paraphrase, people with a racially biased perspective sponsored the civic policy to oppress diverse communities. For example, 24-hour voting, which has now been abolished, was a very convenient option for shift workers, a significant portion of whom are ethnic minorities (Bradner, 2021).
Morris (2023) adds, “there is consistent and convincing evidence that the impacts of these bills fall hardest on voters of color” (p. 441). The same applies to drive-thru voting, which was found to be illegal in 2021. These segments of Senate Bill 1 undermine the authenticity and integrity of the voting process and the American socio-political system, discriminate against voters based on their background, and put vulnerable groups at risk.
Solution
New vote-by-mail ID mandates could expose the personal data of older individuals and those with severe conditions, and they must be fixed. The 2021 requirements require people to disclose their personal information to vote remotely (Bradner, 2021). Everything described above regarding the 2021 law must be revised and reversed. A hypothetical reform should consist of a single straightforward action: the repeal of these law sections, as they are directly discriminatory and the Texas Bill of Rights prohibits discrimination.
References
Bradner, E. (2021). The new Texas voting law includes these 7 major changes. CNN.
Morris, K. T. (2023). A right restricted: Racial threat and the sponsorship of restrictive voting laws. Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics, 8(3), 421–445.