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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed the state’s controversial election integrity bill Tuesday after a months-long battle with Democrats opposed to the legislation.<\/p>\n
Abbott traveled to Tyler, Texas on Tuesday to sign SB 1, an election security bill that will set new rules for mail-in voting while increasing the number of partisan poll watchers and giving the state more control of local voting operations.<\/p>\n
Abbott’s signature comes after a long battle with Democrats who opposed the legislation, which included some lawmakers fleeing the state in a desperate attempt to block the law from being passed.<\/p>\n
Those efforts came to an end last week after the Texas House passed the bill 80-41, with the Texas Senate voting 19-13 in favor of the new law. Both votes were almost completely along party lines.<\/p>\n
The governor signaled his intention to sign the legislation shortly after it passed in the legislature.<\/p>\n
“Senate Bill 1 will solidify trust and confidence in the outcome of our elections by making it easier to vote and harder to cheat. I look forward to signing Senate Bill 1 into law, ensuring election integrity in Texas,” Abbott said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Republicans have argued the bill is a necessary step to put a stop to voter fraud in the state and boost voter confidence in the integrity of elections.<\/p>\n
“How much fraud is OK? None. How much suppression is okay? None,” said GOP state Sen. Bryan Hughes of the legislation. “That’s why Senate Bill 1 makes it easy to vote and hard to cheat.”<\/p>\n
But Democrats claim that there is no evidence to support the notion that widespread voter fraud is a problem in the state.<\/p>\n
“I worry that this bill is going to take our state down a very dangerous slippery slope. And I think that this narrative is dangerous, this narrative that there’s widespread fraud with no evidence. I think it’s damaging to our democracy,” Democratic state Sen. Cesar Blanco argued.<\/p>\n