AUSTIN — Texas lawmakers begin their biennial legislative session Tuesday, with attacks on voting access expected to once again be a major priority of the politicians in charge. 

Common Cause Texas, and our over 50,000 members across the state, will be engaged in these fights over the next few months to ensure the rights of voters are protected. 

Statement from Anthony Gutierrez, Common Cause Texas’ Executive Director

The single biggest problem facing our democratic system in Texas today is a lack of participation. 

Texas ranked 46th in the nation for voter turnout in the last election. Accessibility issues, confusion over voting rules, and technology problems stemming from a lack of investment in our election infrastructure converged in this election, and, as a result, more than 9.6 million Texans sat out this past election.

Rather than making any attempt to address our chronically underfunded election administration, Texas’ legislature has opted to focus on stifling the voices of our people by passing some of the worst anti-voter measures in the nation, and seems determined to do so again. 

Among the most dangerous bills we’ve already seen filed are one that would create a Florida-style election crimes squad, and another that would deprive seniors over 65 from automatically being qualified to vote by mail. 

Instead of trying to make it easier for eligible Texans to vote, the politicians in charge are scheming ways to make it even harder for some of us, especially Black and Brown Texans, to participate in our democracy. 

We at Common Cause Texas are ready to defend our voting rights, and know we’ll be joined by Texans across the state who want to see our state move forward, and not backwards.