The 87th Texas Legislative session ended May 31 after Tex­as Democrats staged a walkout that dissolved the quorum need­ed for a vote, killing Senate Bill 7, known as the Election Integ­rity Protection Act.

If passed, the bill would have set uniform early voting hours, empower partisan poll watch­ers, impose criminal penalties on voting officials who break the rules, ban 24-hour and drive-through voting, penalize elec­tion officials who send mail-in ballot applications to individu­als who do not request them and requires personal information from individuals assisting vot­ers in preparing a mail-in ballot.

While Texas Republicans argued that the bill is needed to secure elections, the state’s Democratic Party said the bill targets people of color and criti­cized it as voter suppression.

In response to the walkout, Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to veto Article 10 of the state bud­get, which funds lawmakers’ and their staff’s pay.

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By Dustin Butler • [email protected]