HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — November will mark the first presidential election since Senate Bill 1 was enacted into Texas law three years ago, providing better insight into the legislation’s impact on people who already face economic, social, and physical challenges when it comes to voting.
SB 1 imposes a number of changes, including eliminating overnight early voting hours, outlawing ballot harvesting, adding rules for mail-in-voting, granting more autonomy to partisan poll watchers inside voting areas, and setting criminal penalties for voter assistance.
Supporters call Senate Bill 1 an “election protection” law that came out of former President Donald Trump questioning the results of the 2020 presidential election, even though there has been no evidence of widespread voter fraud.
Meanwhile, opponents believe the law is a way for Republicans to make it harder for disenfranchised communities to cast their ballots.
Concerns among people living with disabilities
Despite the challenges that come with living with muscular dystrophy, Lydia Nunez Landry has made it a priority to vote in nearly every single election. Her passion to be civically engaged partly came from her family. She remembers going to the polls with her mother when she was a little girl and standing by her side as she voted.
“Voting is important to me. My father fought in World War II for democracy. So I feel like it’s my responsibility and as a good citizen to vote. Voting is fundamental to democracy. We can’t have a democracy without it. That’s the opportunity for us to choose who will represent us,” said Nunez Landry.
She prefers to vote in person when she can, but believes it’s important to have options. Nunez Landry has utilized mail-in voting several times for different reasons, whether it was because of the COVID-19 pandemic or the fact that there is no accessible public transportation in Seabrook where she lives.
After the passage of SB 1, Nunez Landry feared that her ballot would not be accepted under the new signature verification process. She explained that she does not have a consistent signature due to her condition.
“My handwriting fluctuates from day to day. Sometimes I can write legibly and then sometimes it’s incoherent,” she said.
Last August, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas overruled the provision, citing that it violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It also overturned the provision that rejected mail-in ballots for using a form of identification that didn’t match the one used on a voter registration application.
However, she is still concerned about the part of the law that enacts possible criminal penalties for people who assist voters needing help with filling out their ballots, such as voters with disabilities.
“Some of us require assistance with using the accessible voting equipment. But the new language in the oath for assisters was very chilling. It had a chilling effect,” she said. “A lot of disabled people may hesitate to ask one of their attendants to do this and risk some serious criminal liability.”
Regardless, Nunez Landry is determined to help increase votership among people living with disabilities. She currently volunteers with REV UP, a voter campaign organized by the American Association of People with Disabilities.
“So many people would say to me, ‘No one cares about us.’ I told them that’s exactly why we need to vote. There’s power in numbers,” she said. “You want to challenge me? I’m going to show up even more. I just can’t afford to succumb to despair and cynicism.”
She added, “I also want people to know the difference between drive-thru voting, which was eliminated under SB 1, and curbside voting. Curbside is still available for people with disabilities and/or over 65 years old. You can drive up to the polling location and ring a buzzer where the signage is.”
Concerns about people voting absentee
Morrow Entrekin, 19, has been anticipating the moment when she’ll be able to vote in her first presidential election in November. Although she is currently a student living on-campus at Oklahoma State University, Entrekin plans to cast her ballot as an absentee in Tarrant County where her parents live.
“My drive to get home is about four hours, which I know is not that bad. I would love to vote in-person. But it doesn’t work out for me, because the hours available for voting are not the hours I would be able to travel without having to skip class,” she said.
Entrekin knows that she has to request her mail-in ballot on her own, thanks to her mother who is familiar with the voting process. But she worries about others in a similar situation who may not be aware and could miss out on the opportunity to vote.
Under SB 1, local officials are no longer allowed to proactively send out applications for mail-in ballots, even if they are to people who automatically qualify.
“It’s inconvenient that we have to remember before each and every single election to apply for a mail-in ballot. On top of that, you have to make sure you do everything right so it doesn’t get rejected. That’s why I send mine months in advance, just in case,” said Entrekin. “I watch my friends in Oklahoma vote by mail and it is not nearly this hard.”
The college sophomore said she already sees voter apathy among her peers, causing concern that the new legislation may discourage young populations in Texas from voting.
“If you create these barriers, some people won’t do it. When it’s hard for them one time, they might not do it the next time because they know it’s difficult,” she said.
Potential widespread impact on the November election
The actual impact of SB 1 on the results of the 2024 presidential election will remain unclear until after November. However, Rice University Political Science Prof. Bob Stein anticipates it could hurt the Republican turnout, as the majority of people who vote by mail were conservatives.
Stein said since the state has increased skepticism, his survey of Republican primary voters showed that none of them will vote by mail and could cause the party to lose votes from those who are elderly, disabled, or living in nursing homes.
“I’ve been working with a group of Republican consultants this summer, who invited me into a project to help convince Republican voters that elections are conducted fairly. They tell me they scratch their head and don’t understand why Republicans, led by Donald Trump, are attacking the voting system,” said Stein.
But Stein has an explanation. He said Republicans typically get elected in primaries, not general elections. So in states like Texas where Republicans hold a majority of the state legislature, the race for office is the primary.
“Most Republican legislators will tell you they don’t think there’s a lot of voter fraud and at best, if they pass something, they may suppress Democratic turnout. But what they do know is if they don’t get behind the Trump message, they may not be in office,” he said.
Furthermore, Stein predicts that Senate Bill 1 may actually help increase voter turnout among diverse communities.
“I think the parties use SB 1 as a scapegoat for mobilizing their base. Republicans point to it and say, ‘See? We’re fighting for a fair election.’ Democrats turn it around as ‘They don’t want you to vote, so that’s why you should,'” he said. “I call it the Tom Sawyer effect.”
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