Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks alongside former President Donald Trump near an unfinished section of the border wall on June 30, 2021 in Pharr, Texas. (Photo: Brandon Bell via Getty Images)
Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott Calls Another Special Session to Attack Voting Rights
Republicans "waging war on our right to vote failed to pass anti-democratic legislation in the regular session and the last special session," said one advocate. "Texans are ready to make sure they fail again."
Just weeks after Texas Democrats defeated a sweeping voter suppression bill by fleeing the state to deny Republican lawmakers the quorum necessary to proceed to a vote, far-right Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday announced another special session, prompting pro-democracy advocates to denounce the Lone Star State GOP's relentless assault on voting rights.
"The decision to call a second special session is nothing more than a partisan power grab to distract us from the real challenges our communities face."
--Stephanie Gomez, Common Cause Texas
"While a deadly pandemic and an energy crisis threaten our way of life in Texas, Gov. Abbott remains focused on stripping away the rights of thousands of Texans," Stephanie Gomez, associate director of Common Cause Texas, said in a statement.
"Texas is already the most difficult place to vote in the entire country, but the governor and partisan legislators want to make it even harder for us to cast a ballot and have our vote be counted," Gomez continued. "The decision to call a second special session is nothing more than a partisan power grab to distract us from the real challenges our communities face, like taking action to slow the spread of the Delta variant and address our failing energy grid."
The upcoming special session of the Texas state Legislature--this summer's second--is set to begin on Saturday, August 7.
Prior to the aborted July meeting, only one other special session had been called in the past five years and just five special sessions had been called over the past decade, according to Texas legislative records.
While Abbott's attempt to ram through the state GOP's voter suppression bill in multiple legislative sessions is unprecedented, his announcement (pdf) Thursday did not come as a surprise.
The right-wing governor has made clear that the purpose of his special sessions is to enact restrictive voting legislation.
"I will continue to call special session, after special session, after special session every single month until we address and vote on these bills," Abbott said in an interview shortly after Texas Democrats left the state on July 12.
Last month's special session came after state Democratic lawmakers in late May successfully thwarted the Texas GOP's voter suppression bill for the first time--by walking off the House floor, thereby denying the chamber's Republican majority quorum and bringing the regular session to a close.
"The governor and partisan legislators waging war on our right to vote failed to pass anti-democratic legislation in the regular session and the last special session," Gomez said Thursday. "Texans are ready to make sure they fail again."
Dozens of Texas Democrats, as well as more than a hundred lawmakers from other states, have gathered in Washington, D.C., where they are urging Democratic members of Congress to act immediately to protect U.S. democracy amid the GOP's nationwide attacks on the franchise.
Although state lawmakers and progressive advocates have not yet persuaded Senate Democrats to scrap the filibuster and pass the For the People Act, a trio of congressional Democrats did take one step toward advancing democracy this week by unveiling a bill described by its lead Senate sponsor as the "first-ever affirmative federal voting rights guarantee for all U.S. citizens."
As Common Dreams reported, the Right to Vote Act--introduced Wednesday in the House by Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.) and in the upper chamber by Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)--would for the first time establish a statutory right to vote in federal elections.
If passed, the legislation would enable Americans to mount legal challenges to any policies that make it harder to cast ballots, and it would counter voter suppression efforts by requiring state officials to prove claims of electoral fraud.
Gomez, for her part, said that "in Texas, we cherish our freedom to vote and have a voice in our government. We believe there is nothing more sacred than our constitutionally protected right to have a say on the issues that impact our everyday lives."
"Common Cause Texas will continue to fight day and night for our voting rights," she added, "no matter how many special sessions the governor calls."
FINAL DAY! This is urgent.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just hours left in our Spring Campaign, we're still falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Just weeks after Texas Democrats defeated a sweeping voter suppression bill by fleeing the state to deny Republican lawmakers the quorum necessary to proceed to a vote, far-right Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday announced another special session, prompting pro-democracy advocates to denounce the Lone Star State GOP's relentless assault on voting rights.
"The decision to call a second special session is nothing more than a partisan power grab to distract us from the real challenges our communities face."
--Stephanie Gomez, Common Cause Texas
"While a deadly pandemic and an energy crisis threaten our way of life in Texas, Gov. Abbott remains focused on stripping away the rights of thousands of Texans," Stephanie Gomez, associate director of Common Cause Texas, said in a statement.
"Texas is already the most difficult place to vote in the entire country, but the governor and partisan legislators want to make it even harder for us to cast a ballot and have our vote be counted," Gomez continued. "The decision to call a second special session is nothing more than a partisan power grab to distract us from the real challenges our communities face, like taking action to slow the spread of the Delta variant and address our failing energy grid."
The upcoming special session of the Texas state Legislature--this summer's second--is set to begin on Saturday, August 7.
Prior to the aborted July meeting, only one other special session had been called in the past five years and just five special sessions had been called over the past decade, according to Texas legislative records.
While Abbott's attempt to ram through the state GOP's voter suppression bill in multiple legislative sessions is unprecedented, his announcement (pdf) Thursday did not come as a surprise.
The right-wing governor has made clear that the purpose of his special sessions is to enact restrictive voting legislation.
"I will continue to call special session, after special session, after special session every single month until we address and vote on these bills," Abbott said in an interview shortly after Texas Democrats left the state on July 12.
Last month's special session came after state Democratic lawmakers in late May successfully thwarted the Texas GOP's voter suppression bill for the first time--by walking off the House floor, thereby denying the chamber's Republican majority quorum and bringing the regular session to a close.
"The governor and partisan legislators waging war on our right to vote failed to pass anti-democratic legislation in the regular session and the last special session," Gomez said Thursday. "Texans are ready to make sure they fail again."
Dozens of Texas Democrats, as well as more than a hundred lawmakers from other states, have gathered in Washington, D.C., where they are urging Democratic members of Congress to act immediately to protect U.S. democracy amid the GOP's nationwide attacks on the franchise.
Although state lawmakers and progressive advocates have not yet persuaded Senate Democrats to scrap the filibuster and pass the For the People Act, a trio of congressional Democrats did take one step toward advancing democracy this week by unveiling a bill described by its lead Senate sponsor as the "first-ever affirmative federal voting rights guarantee for all U.S. citizens."
As Common Dreams reported, the Right to Vote Act--introduced Wednesday in the House by Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.) and in the upper chamber by Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)--would for the first time establish a statutory right to vote in federal elections.
If passed, the legislation would enable Americans to mount legal challenges to any policies that make it harder to cast ballots, and it would counter voter suppression efforts by requiring state officials to prove claims of electoral fraud.
Gomez, for her part, said that "in Texas, we cherish our freedom to vote and have a voice in our government. We believe there is nothing more sacred than our constitutionally protected right to have a say on the issues that impact our everyday lives."
"Common Cause Texas will continue to fight day and night for our voting rights," she added, "no matter how many special sessions the governor calls."
Just weeks after Texas Democrats defeated a sweeping voter suppression bill by fleeing the state to deny Republican lawmakers the quorum necessary to proceed to a vote, far-right Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday announced another special session, prompting pro-democracy advocates to denounce the Lone Star State GOP's relentless assault on voting rights.
"The decision to call a second special session is nothing more than a partisan power grab to distract us from the real challenges our communities face."
--Stephanie Gomez, Common Cause Texas
"While a deadly pandemic and an energy crisis threaten our way of life in Texas, Gov. Abbott remains focused on stripping away the rights of thousands of Texans," Stephanie Gomez, associate director of Common Cause Texas, said in a statement.
"Texas is already the most difficult place to vote in the entire country, but the governor and partisan legislators want to make it even harder for us to cast a ballot and have our vote be counted," Gomez continued. "The decision to call a second special session is nothing more than a partisan power grab to distract us from the real challenges our communities face, like taking action to slow the spread of the Delta variant and address our failing energy grid."
The upcoming special session of the Texas state Legislature--this summer's second--is set to begin on Saturday, August 7.
Prior to the aborted July meeting, only one other special session had been called in the past five years and just five special sessions had been called over the past decade, according to Texas legislative records.
While Abbott's attempt to ram through the state GOP's voter suppression bill in multiple legislative sessions is unprecedented, his announcement (pdf) Thursday did not come as a surprise.
The right-wing governor has made clear that the purpose of his special sessions is to enact restrictive voting legislation.
"I will continue to call special session, after special session, after special session every single month until we address and vote on these bills," Abbott said in an interview shortly after Texas Democrats left the state on July 12.
Last month's special session came after state Democratic lawmakers in late May successfully thwarted the Texas GOP's voter suppression bill for the first time--by walking off the House floor, thereby denying the chamber's Republican majority quorum and bringing the regular session to a close.
"The governor and partisan legislators waging war on our right to vote failed to pass anti-democratic legislation in the regular session and the last special session," Gomez said Thursday. "Texans are ready to make sure they fail again."
Dozens of Texas Democrats, as well as more than a hundred lawmakers from other states, have gathered in Washington, D.C., where they are urging Democratic members of Congress to act immediately to protect U.S. democracy amid the GOP's nationwide attacks on the franchise.
Although state lawmakers and progressive advocates have not yet persuaded Senate Democrats to scrap the filibuster and pass the For the People Act, a trio of congressional Democrats did take one step toward advancing democracy this week by unveiling a bill described by its lead Senate sponsor as the "first-ever affirmative federal voting rights guarantee for all U.S. citizens."
As Common Dreams reported, the Right to Vote Act--introduced Wednesday in the House by Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.) and in the upper chamber by Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)--would for the first time establish a statutory right to vote in federal elections.
If passed, the legislation would enable Americans to mount legal challenges to any policies that make it harder to cast ballots, and it would counter voter suppression efforts by requiring state officials to prove claims of electoral fraud.
Gomez, for her part, said that "in Texas, we cherish our freedom to vote and have a voice in our government. We believe there is nothing more sacred than our constitutionally protected right to have a say on the issues that impact our everyday lives."
"Common Cause Texas will continue to fight day and night for our voting rights," she added, "no matter how many special sessions the governor calls."