A group of GOP state senators in Texas on Thursday introduced yet another bill aimed at making it harder to vote. If signed into law, it would cut back on the amount of time allowed for casting a ballot and require disabled voters to provide explicit proof of their disability in order to cast an absentee ballot.
According to the text of the bill, disabled voters would need to provide “written documentation from the Social Security Administration or the United States Department of Veterans Affairs evidencing that the applicant has been determined to have a disability,” or a note from a doctor affirming that they are physically unable to vote in person.
The bill would also cut the hours polls are open in the early-voting period to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Under current law, counties can determine their own polling times, with Democratic strongholds like Harris County, which includes the city of Austin, keeping polls open until 10 p.m. for early voting.