AUSTIN – Today, nine nonpartisan voting rights groups sent a letter to the Texas House Republican Caucus and the Texas House Democratic Caucus, calling on all members of the Texas House of Representatives to prioritize Texas voters when selecting their Speaker for the 89th Legislative Session. 

Joining this request are the ACLU of Texas, Clean Elections Texas, Common Cause Texas, Every Texan, Houston Area Urban League, League of Women Voters of Texas, Progress Texas Institute, Texas Civil Rights Project, and Vote Riders, and Legal Defense Fund. 

In response to the sign-on letter, Emily Eby French, policy director of Common Cause Texas issued the following statement: 

“The Speaker of the House is one of the most powerful positions in the state. 

“At bare minimum, a qualified Speaker of the House should agree to protect the voting rights of all eligible Texans. Texas voter turnout was down in both solid red counties and big blue counties. Increasing voter access should be a bipartisan goal.

“Whoever ends up with the Speaker’s gavel will be able to choose between advancing laws that bring more eligible Texans to the polls or raising up more barriers to democracy. 

“Members should look for a Speaker who will oppose any legislation that creates new barriers to voting and safeguard existing voter access programs, like High School Voter Registration and Countywide Polling. An ideal Speaker would bring Texas voters into the 21st century by implementing proactive reforms like Online Voter Registration.”

“We’re asking our representatives to select a candidate who will serve the Texas voters who elected them.Common Cause Texas believes that all Texans, regardless of their party affiliation, will benefit from greater access to the ballot box.”

A full copy of the letter can be found here.

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