Earlier today, State Senator Carol Alvarado announced her intention to filibuster SB1, an anti-voter bill that would make it more difficult for Texans to vote. Texas is already the most difficult place to vote in the entire county.

SB 1 would making it even more difficult to vote by banning 24-hour voting and drive-thru voting, empowering partisan poll watchers, adding more requirements for voting by mail, and making it illegal for elections officials to inform Texans of their voting rights.

Statement from Common Cause Associate Director Stephanie Gómez

Senator Carol Alvarado is showing exactly the kind of courage and leadership Texas needs right now. While we face a dangerous surge in Covid-19 cases and our local hospitals reach maximum capacity, Governor Abbott and his partisan legislators continue to focus on stripping away our freedom to vote.

We believe every voter in Texas should have the right to cast a ballot freely and fairly on Election Day, regardless of race, ethnicity, income, educational attainment, and geographic location.

Voting rights for all is something worth fighting like hell for and we thank state leaders like Senator Carol Alvarado for speaking up for every Texan. And while Senator Alvarado is not afraid to take a stand for voting rights, Republicans in the U.S. Senate, including Texas Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, refuse to even allow debate on The For The People Act. The For The People Act is a transformative piece of legislation that will protect the very voting rights Governor Abbott works to take away from us.

Congress must put an end to the wave of anti-voter attacks and pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act without further delay.

As long as partisan legislators continue to wage war on our right to vote, we will continue to defend our democracy and protect every single Texans’ freedom to vote.