Status: 09/01/2021 4:18 a.m.
The parliament in the US state of Texas passed the controversial electoral reform – with the votes of the Republicans. Democratic MPs had repeatedly blocked votes in advance.
The parliament in the US state of Texas passed the controversial electoral reform. Both chambers approved the plans with a majority of Republicans. The Democrats had previously tried to prevent the reform by boycotting votes in the regional parliament. Among other things, the law is intended to expand the power of partisan election observers and prohibit certain voting methods – such as voting in drive-in polling stations, i.e. from the car.
For example, it should also be prohibited that official bodies send unsolicited applications for a postal vote to eligible voters. Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott said he was looking forward to signing the law. This protects the integrity of the elections. On the other hand, critics see the changes as an attack on democracy. The prominent Democrat and former presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke from Texas spoke of “voter suppression”.
Election fraud is rare in the United States
In the USA, the right to vote, which is largely shaped by the states, is extremely competitive. Several republican-ruled states have already passed regulations or are pursuing provisions that critics believe would make voting more difficult. When the barriers to voting are higher, minority groups tend to stay at home in the US – and these groups are often more likely to vote for Democrats. Republicans, on the other hand, argue that their reforms are only about making electoral fraud more difficult. Election fraud is very rare in the USA and can sometimes be punished with long prison sentences.
The political controversy is an aftermath of the polarizing election year 2020. The Republican ex-President Donald Trump does not recognize to this day that he clearly lost the election to the Democrat Joe Biden. Trump claims he was robbed of victory by election fraud. His camp failed in court with dozens of lawsuits against the election results. However, many Republicans stuck to Trump’s story that there had been irregularities in the elections, and subsequently pushed forward legislative initiatives that, in the view of Democrats and civil rights activists, curtail the right to vote.