Two Democratic state senators filed the federal suit arguing the Texas Constitution does not allow lawmakers to meet in special session to draw up state House and Senate districts. They’re asking the courts to do it instead.
Alexa Ura
Alexa Ura reported for The Texas Tribune from 2013 to 2023. She covered the complex dynamics of race, ethnicity, wealth, poverty and power and how they are shaping the future of Texas and Texans, in the long and short term. Alexa started at the Tribune as a reporting intern before graduating from the University of Texas at Austin and joining the staff full time. Originally from Laredo on the Texas-Mexico border, she is a native Spanish speaker and is based in Austin.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Republican bill tightening Texas election laws is headed to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk
Senate Bill 1 rewrites Texas election laws to further restrict the voting-by-mail process and outlaw local voting initiatives meant to widen access, namely those pushed by Harris County that were disproportionately used by voters of color.
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Texas Legislature 2021
The hard-fought Texas voting bill is poised to become law. Here’s what it does.
Senate Bill 1 would set new rules for voting by mail, boost protections for partisan poll watchers and roll back local voting initiatives meant to make it easier to vote, namely those championed by Harris County that were disproportionately used by voters of color.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Texas House passes new voting restrictions as Democratic hopes of killing the legislation wane
Democrats used every tool they had, fleeing the state en masse and forcing two special sessions, but a Republican bill to rewrite state election laws won final approval in the House on Friday. Once the House and Senate work out some differences, it appears headed to the governor’s desk.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Texas House committee again passes the voting restrictions bill that instigated Democratic quorum break
Senate Bill 1 would outlaw local efforts to make it easier to vote, ratchet up vote-by-mail rules and bolster protections for partisan poll watchers. The Senate already passed the legislation, but a House panel Monday replaced that with the lower chamber’s version of the bill.
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Redistricting Texas
People of color make up 95% of Texas’ population growth, and cities and suburbs are booming, 2020 census shows
The state’s Hispanic population is now nearly as large as the non-Hispanic white population, with Texas gaining nearly 11 Hispanic residents for every additional white resident since 2010. Those trends set up a pitched battle for political control when state lawmakers redraw legislative districts.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Texas Senate outlasts 15-hour filibuster by Sen. Carol Alvarado to pass GOP voting-restrictions bill
The Houston Democrat was on her feet speaking, not allowed to sit or lean against her desk, and unable to take bathroom breaks or drink water, since Wednesday evening. But ultimately the bill she opposed passed Thursday on an 18-11 vote.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Signed warrants produce no arrests of Texas Democrats for now, but perhaps a hardened resolve to stay away
It’s unclear how far Republican leadership plans to take the arrests, and there remains debate about the limits of law enforcement’s authority to detain lawmakers who are not accused of committing crimes.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Forging ahead, Texas Senate committee again passes voting restrictions bill
Senate Bill 1 is nearly identical to legislation considered in the first special session, containing many of the provisions that have spawned a monthslong game of legislative brinkmanship with House Democrats, who continue to deny Republicans the quorum needed to enact the bill.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Another special session to pass a GOP voting bill started without a quorum. This time it’s unclear if Democrats will stay away.
Both chambers convened at noon Saturday for a second overtime round ordered by Gov. Greg Abbott. The first 30-day stretch ended in an impasse after House Democrats left the state to block a controversial GOP elections bill.