Texas lawmakers push for voting rights in D.C., meeting with Vice President Harris

More than a dozen Texas lawmakers, including three from Tarrant County, met with Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday in Washington where they called for federal action to protect voting rights.

The meeting comes after members of the Texas House of Representatives executed a walkout on the House floor to block an election bill widely criticized as voter suppression legislation. Rep. Nicole Collier of Fort Worth and Rep. Chris Turner of Grand Prairie and Sen. Beverly Powell of Burleson are among the elected officials who joined Harris at the White House.

“All citizens have the right to vote. Constitutionally, it is their right,” Harris said at the meeting’s start. “What we are seeing are examples of an attempt to interfere with that right and attempt to marginalize and take from people a right that has already been given.”

Harris said she and President Joe Biden “will do everything in our power as an administration to lift up the voices of those who seek to preserve the right of the people to vote.” Harris said the lawmakers would discuss Senate Bill 7, the Texas election bill that was killed when Democrats broke quorum.

“While we will meet, we will also talk about the administration’s absolute commitment to seeing Congress — the United States Congress — pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and to pass the For the People Act to, again, put back in place the protections that existed before and to ensure, as we go forward, that as there are new attacks on the access to the polls and voting, that we head them off in a way that ensures again that the people retain their right to vote however they choose, but unimpeded,” Harris said.

Texas Democrats have looked to Congress to pass the For the People Act, as well as the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. During the meeting, lawmakers delivered a letter signed by Democratic Texas legislators in the House and Senate to “underscore the urgency of federal action in light of what we have experienced in Texas.”

“While this particular bill is now dead, it is only a matter of time before our governor calls a special session of the Legislature and Republicans resume their efforts to pass this legislation,” the letter reads.

The John Lewis Voting Rights Act, creates criteria for deciding which states must get approval before changing voting practices. The proposal passed the House during the previous congressional session, but hasn’t been considered this session. The For the People Act, a broad voting access bill, is intended to expand voter registration, offer campaign finances reforms and limit gerrymandering. The bill has passed the House and is expected to be heard in the U.S. Senate later this month, where it faces long odds.

Ahead of Wednesday’s meeting, some of the Texas lawmakers joined by U.S. Representatives from Texas held a news conference with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The California Democrat commended the state legislators’ efforts to block Senate Bill 7 during the regular legislative session.

“When we hear the story that they tell, it’s a sad story — that others in our country who have a responsibility, take an oath to protect and defend the constitution just do the opposite and undermine the rights of people to vote,” Pelsoi said Tuesday. “But their story is not unique. It’s what is happening across the country.”

The Texas bill, which saw multiple iterations over the course of the session, would have barred 24-hour and drive-thru voting, offered protections for partisan poll watchers and created election-related criminal offenses. Supporters says the proposal is needed to promote election integrity, though officials have said there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.

“As the chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, I can tell you, our members know too well the assault that has been placed upon our community. We know when they talk about preserving the purity of the ballot box, we know exactly what they’re talking about, ” said state Rep. Nicole Collier, D-Fort Worth., pointing to provisions that appeared in versions of Senate Bill 7.

She continued, “We know the lengths that they will go, and there is no, no limit on what they will do to stop our people from voting. To limit the voting. To disenfranchise people.”

“So we are here because we need federal intervention,” Collier said. “The ‘For the People Act will be a great compliment and start to stopping this assault on our rights.”

Perhaps the biggest roadblock to the federal bill’s passage is the Senate’s filibuster rule. Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, has been a vocal opponent of eliminating the rule, and has said he won’t vote for the bill, calling for bipartisanship.

State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, said he and Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, met with Manchin’s chief of staff and legislative director in a 45-minute closed door meeting.

“We really had a opportunity to understand the legislation, understand what the thinking is of Senator Manchin, what the approach is going to be in the coming days,” Fischer said. “Certainly all of his decisions and his timelines, not for me to comment on, but I left there with hope and inspiration and with an offer to come back and meet once again, which Representative Crockett and I will do.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.