TYLER, Texas (NBC) – Despite hard-fought efforts by Texas Democrats, Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 1 into law Tuesday.
The Texas Republican-controlled House and Senate approved new rules for voting by mail, boosting the role of partisan poll watchers and rolling back voting hours.
Opponents say the new law will restrict access to voting for many citizens.
These new laws will go into effect in three months after the special legislative session, and before the 2022 primary elections.
Governor Abbott claims the new law will make it easier to vote but harder to cheat.
Abbot said, “I don’t want to hear the nonsense and the lies that we continually hear that it’s tough to vote in Texas. Texas turns out voters because they have confidence that our elections are always going to be fair and Senate Bill 1 will give them even more confidence. We want to see more people vote, we want to see them vote fairly and we don’t want the cheaters to undermine our elections. So that’s what Texas is about. Turning out people to vote and making sure elections are fair and honest and cheaters are caught.”
Texas now joins Georgia as states with some of the most restrictive voting laws in the country.
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