Texas Enacts SB 1 — Sweeping Voting Restrictions Ban 24-Hour and Drive-Thru Voting

Texas Governor Greg Abbott signs Senate Bill 1 into law after a dramatic legislative battle that saw Democratic legislators break quorum twice — first by fleeing to a Washington DC hotel room in May 2021, then again by leaving the state in July 2021. The 67-page bill imposes some of the nation's most restrictive voting measures: banning 24-hour early voting and drive-thru voting (both used successfully by Harris County in 2020, particularly by voters of color); restricting early voting hours to between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. (eliminating overnight options); imposing new ID requirements for mail-in ballot applications (requiring a driver's license number or Social Security number to match registration records — a requirement that risked disenfranchising 2 million registered voters whose files lacked such data); granting broad authority to partisan poll watchers with enhanced access to polling places; and prohibiting election officials from sending unsolicited mail-in ballot applications. The law also makes it a crime for election officials to proactively distribute mail-in ballot applications. The DOJ files suit challenging the law, arguing it violates Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act which protects voters who need assistance.