NewsNational

Actions

Texas Senate passes voting bill following 15-hour filibuster

Carol Alvarado
Posted at 5:59 PM, Aug 12, 2021
and last updated 2021-08-12 18:00:20-04

The Texas Senate passed Republican-backed voting bills Thursday.

The passage followed a 15-hour filibuster by Democrat Carol Alvarado, which began at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

The state senator, who was wearing running shoes, had to remain standing and continue speaking for the duration of the filibuster.

"Do we want access to our electoral process to be more difficult for people with disabilities, or do we want to remove barriers for them,” Alvarado said, according to the Texas Tribune. "For communities of color, do we want to defend the tremendous progress that we've made in civil rights and equality or chip away at their voting rights one Senate bill at a time?"

Ultimately, the measure passed by an 18-11 vote.

Senate Bill 1 was drafted to restrict voting access following former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the presidential election was rigged.

The bill is headed to the Texas House where Democrats have refused to take part in the proccess so the bill can get a vote.