The Texas House’s Constitutional Rights and Remedies Committee is listening to public testimony on the contentious GOP bill that would enact new voting restrictions in the state.
Senate Bill 1 would add restrictions to mail-in voting, ban drive-thru voting and give more access to partisan poll watchers, among other provisions. Some groups have also argued the bill creates barriers for voters with disabilities.
A group of Democrats fled to Washington D.C. last month in an attempt to block the measure, but a quorum was restored last week as Democratic lawmakers gradually returned to the state. The chamber needs a minimum of 100 lawmakers to conduct business.
Though the Democrats who fled the state failed to convince Congress to take on federal voting protections, some voting rights experts say their efforts since their first walkout in May made the Texas GOP bill slightly less restrictive than the version presented earlier this year.
Watch Monday’s committee hearing here.