HOUSTON – The ACLU of Texas along with 14 other civil rights organizations highlighted measures that should be put into place to protect the health and safety of Texans as they exercise their right to vote. The organizations ask that state and local elections officials take urgent steps to ensure safety and accessibility in the July and November elections, in a letter sent to Governor Abbott, Secretary of State Hughs, and all 254 County Clerks.
“Texans should not have to risk their lives as they exercise their right to vote in the upcoming elections,” said Sarah Labowitz, policy & advocacy director for the ACLU of Texas. “We’re calling on state and local officials to do everything in their power to make sure that what happened in Georgia last week – long lines, crowded polling places, and depressed turnout – doesn’t happen in Texas in July and November.”
The letter asks for state and local government officials to develop a response plan to the pandemic which expands voter registration and extends early voting to allow for the largest possible participation. It calls on the state to further extend early voting for the July and November elections and provide voters with more options and locations for voting, including expanded curbside voting, to allow for smaller gatherings in polling places.
The letter was sent by: The ACLU of Texas, All on the Line Campus Vote Project, Children’s Defense Fund of Texas, Common Cause, Common Ground for Texans, Emgage Action, Fair Elections Center, League of Women Voters, MOVE Texas Action Fund, Progress Texas, Protect Democracy, Stand Up Republic – Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project, and TexPIRG.
A copy of the letter is available here.
