North State Journal: “Texas Republicans advanced new election integrity measures last week after months of protests by Democrats, who abandoned the state for 38 days before returning.
The nearly 50-page bill passed the Texas House on a 79-37 mostly party-line vote. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott says he will sign the measure that is on track to reach his desk by early September, if not sooner.
In what is now the GOP’s third try at passing the bill since May, the atmosphere was charged. For more than 12 hours Republicans defended the changes as safeguards while Democrats, who offered a raft of rejected attempts to soften the bill, continued to claim it would disproportionately impact people of color. At one heated point Republican Dade Phelan, the House speaker, interrupted lawmakers to tell them not to accuse each other of racism — or even say the word.
But in the end, the bill easily passed, just as Democrats knew it would once they returned.”