Senate State Affairs Committee
March 26, 2021
Testimony of Stephanie Gómez
on behalf of Common Cause Texas
in Opposition to Senate Bill 7
Common Cause Texas is a nonpartisan advocacy organization that works on a range of democracy reform issues. When it comes to elections we have a unique perspective as leaders within the national and statewide networks of nonpartisan organizations that work on election protection.
For us, that election protection work entails recruiting, training and deploying thousands of volunteers to poll sites all over Texas. Those volunteers are there to watch for issues, assist voters who run into problems or who have questions, and to document everything they see while escalating serious or time-sensitive issues for coalition leaders to ensure that every eligible Texans is able to cast a ballot in a safe and secure election. With over 2,700 volunteers ready to head into the field whenever an election is happening means we are very familiar with the various recurring difficulties in Texas elections.
Every election in Texas is a hurdle for voters. Texas has the most restrictive voting laws in the nation[1], and even the COVID-19 pandemic would not sway state leadership into adopting measures that would make it easier and safer for Texans to cast a ballot. In fact, opponents of an equitable and accountable democracy have decided to utilize this legislative session to impose even greater restrictions on the people of Texas, instead of directing attention and resources to the issues affecting Texans, such as recovery from the winter storm and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. There are a wide range of problems that we see in every election – and we welcome the opportunity to share our expertise and support on legislation that would prevent them from happening in the future.
But today we’re here to talk about Senate Bill 7 — which does virtually nothing to solve any actual problem.
In fact, Senate Bill 7, which could be one of the worst pieces of voting rights legislation in Texas since the Jim Crow era, serves only to discourage participation in our elections. Senate Bill 7 is a fundamentally anti-democratic and anti-voter bill, drafted to serve partisan interests-– not Texas voters. Senate Bill 7 is rooted in Texas’s shameful history of voter suppression, and sacrifices the democratic participation of Texans, disproportionately Black, Latinx, and Asian-Pacific Islander Texans, in our elections in order to stay in power.
We must act to make our democratic system more inclusive, resilient and equitable. Senate Bill 7must be stopped in order to protect Texas democracy, and to put an end to partisan actors weaponizing misinformation and distrust in our elections to silence the will of the people.
Among our problems with Senate Bill 7:
Senate Bill 7 attacks the ability of Texans to use mail-in-ballots
In 2020, Texas was one of five states that did not expand mail in ballots as a safe, secure option to all voters. Instead, state leadership infamously battled local officials who took steps to increase voter access to the ballot box. In keeping with this trend, Senate Bill 7 seeks to remove this safe and convenient option from millions of Texans. Senate Bill 7 prohibits local officials and third party actors, like grassroots voter mobilization groups from proactively distributing vote by mail applications to the people — an action that was bravely carried out by local officials and grassroots organizations in response to the ongoing COVID pandemic.
Senate Bill 7 also attacks voters with disabilities by imposing burdensome and invasive requirements, such as requiring them to agree to a statement insisting their disability and requiring voters submit proof of disability to prove eligibility for a mail-in-ballot. In addition to being discriminatory against voters with disabilities, these practices would impose unnecessary costs on voters, by forcing them to acquire doctors notes and creating extra procedures that single them out from other voters.
Senate Bill 7 increases authoritarian, discriminatory practices in the name of “election security”
In keeping with the dangerous narrative that led to the white supremacist insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, those who wish to see our democracy crumble have continued to breathe life into the Big Lie of voter fraud in order to serve partisan interests of staying in power.
Senate Bill 7 would criminalize our election processes in Texas, threatening voters with criminal penalties for small, honest mistakes while registering others to vote. Senate Bill 7 expands the powers of the Attorney General and the Secretary of State on voter fraud witch hunts by requiring local officials to notify them if an ineligible person is suspected of registering to vote, forcing local elected officials to comply with discriminatory and arduous voter roll purges that target naturalized citizens, rely on faulty data, and disqualifies many eligible voters, and institutes penalties against elections officials for administrative, honest mistakes.
Senate Bill 7 expands the rights of partisan poll watchers
Further, Senate Bill 7 expands the rights of partisan poll watchers — placing them “near enough to see and hear” activity, granting them power to record voters — while threatening election officers with criminal offenses for turning away watchers. Granting poll watchers who serve partisan aims and interests disproportionate power over our elections will only weaponize our elections and undermine the bipartisan cooperation between election judges and workers who run our elections to ensure they are safe and secure.
Partisan poll watchers activities often target Black and Brown neighborhoods – there are examples throughout our history. Dating back to at least 2010, there are documented reports of poll watchers in Harris County and other parts of the states intimidating voters, primarily Black and Brown voters, and election workers at the polls.
With the appropriate checks on their power, poll watchers acting in good faith serve an important role in our elections. However, any legislation that would grant unchecked power to partisan poll watchers cannot ignore the recent and long history of poll watching being weaponized as a tool for intimidation, misinformation and partisan gain.
Particularly in light of recently released data from the ACLU of Texas, clearly showing the racist manner in which this Attorney General has sought to pursue “voter fraud” charges, we strongly urge the members of this committee to reject this discriminatory legislation, and focus on the real problem we have with Texas elections — not enough people participating.
[1] https://www.texastribune.org/2020/10/19/texas-voting-elections/