State Sen. Bryan Hughes has seen this movie before, and he knows how it ends.
Hughes, a veteran Republican lawmaker in his second term representing the 1st District, served 14 years in the Texas House of Representatives before moving to the Senate. He said seeing Democratic legislators walk out of the Capitol and flee the state has been tried before.
Hughes discussed that during a Texas Public Policy Foundation forum held on Monday, July 19. Heritage Action for America Executive Director Jessica Anderson and Texas Public Policy Foundation Vice President National Initiatives and Policy Director Chuck DeVore also examined the issue and took audience questions.
Sen. Hughes
| File photo
Most Democratic members of the Texas House of Representatives fled the state on July 12, flying to Washington, D.C., preventing the House from achieving a quorum and voting on one of two bills – Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 3 – that call for changes in Texas elections.
They have vowed to remain out of the state until the special session expires in August – but Gov. Greg Abbott has promised to call another special session to consider the bills.
Hughes said this tactic has been tried before.
“I was a brand new member of the House back in 2003, and the issue at that time was redistricting,” he recalled. “And so, the Democratic members of the Texas House left the state, fled to Ardmore, Oklahoma, at the time, and they stayed until the end of the session so as to kill a redistricting bill. And so, Gov. (Rick) Perry immediately called us back into a special session and then the Senate, the Democrats, left.
“They went to New Mexico. They stayed for the full 30 days of that special session. That session ended,” Hughes said. “They came back. Gov. Perry called us back for another special session and we passed a bill. It hasn't happened to my knowledge since that time, at least on that scale throughout Texas history, from time to time, this has happened for a day or two, maybe people for various reasons.”
He said this could backfire on the Democrats, six of whom have announced they have contracted COVID-19, with one state representative admitting they got “sloppy” about safety.
“So, folks, I'm hearing from across the political spectrum here in Texas, were not happy about members of the Legislature leaving their post, fleeing the state, abandoning their responsibilities,” Hughes said. “You know, we have debates, we hash it out and we take a vote. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose. But we stay here, and we fight this. But we took an oath to do so. Folks are upset about that.”
However, some polls, such as this from News 4 San Antonio which currently stands at 58% voting 'yes' in approval, indicate significant support for the Democrats' move.
Sen. Hughes said the Legislature is being assailed for trying to pass laws to improve the voting process, not deny anyone the opportunity to cast their ballot.
“As far as the bill, you may have seen where the president of the United States said that this bill, this election accessibility and security bill, if I read it correctly, he said this is the biggest attack on democracy since the Civil War. I think that’s what he said,” he said. “And so, here's what's in the bill. Here's what's in the bill. We talk about it by making it easy to vote and hard. It's easy to vote now in Texas, if you're in line to vote, you show up before the polls closed.
“But the lines are long. If you show up before the polls closed, you will be allowed to vote. We've had that protection on Election Day, but not for early voting,” Hughes said. “And as you know, most folks now vote early. Senate Bill 1 provides that protection. Also, if your work schedule does not allow you to vote, your employer must let you off work to vote without that protection for Election Day, never for early voting. This bill adds in for early voting.”
He said it also allows for mail ballot curing.
“Many mail ballots are thrown out for technicalities. Now, this gives the voter a chance to correct those problems and count that ballot,” Hughes said. “Folks are entitled to vote – legitimate, eligible voters. Registered voters need to be able to vote. Along those lines, we expand early voting hours. We expand Sunday voting hours around the state. And so, those are how the bill makes it easy to vote.”
The bill also provides for some important security measures, he said. They were added in response to “people back home, people of all races, of all parties, of all regions of the state have told us their vote, harvester's ballot, harvester's paid political operatives who were stealing votes, who were misleading voters, coercing voters, telling voters they're going to assist them and show them how to use the machine and then voting their way, not how the voters want to vote.”
Hughes said voters have complained of this happening.
“They testify about these things. And so, we respond,” he said. “And so, this bill will crack down on vote, harvester's people trying to cheat, trying to steal ballots, trying to mislead voters, vulnerable voters, vulnerable voters, the elderly. Those folks who don't speak English as well are the most preyed upon their protections for those people in this bill.
“We also standardize the procedures around the state, make sure those machines are being checked, make sure they're recording the votes accurately. We want all of us to count,” the senator said. “And that's basically what this is about, their common sense reforms based on complaints we've heard from the people of Texas, red, yellow, black and white around the state of various political parties and regions. Problems they've complained about we are trying to address.”
Anderson said she thinks Democrats are trying to seize control of elections nationally by making what she claims are false charges. It’s happened in Georgia, Iowa, Florida, Arizona and now Texas, she said.
Anderson said having the Texas Democrats flee the state is a “charade” to allow for federal legislation to override state and local election laws. The plan is a “federal overreach” that must be halted from her perspective.
“It’s their No. 1 goal,” she said. “I think the jury’s out, if you will, if they will be successful here.”
Anderson said a bill under consideration in Washington – the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act – would mandate same-day registration that could allow undocumented people to enter the country and vote within a matter of days.
This claim, widely made by former Vice President Mike Pence, has been consistently discredited by legal scholars.
DeVore said in California, voters are merely asked to do is check a box that they are eligible to vote, with no inspection of their claim. Combined with the Motor Voter Law of the 1990s, with people registered to vote when they obtain driver’s licenses, and many illegal votes could be cast.
All three said claims the election integrity bills are racist are baseless. In fact, people of color have complained about tricks played on them to obtain their votes. The Legislature is trying to prevent that from occurring, not keep people away from the polls.
“Those claims you are hearing are reckless and they are false,” Hughes said.