Despite a fifteen hour filibuster from Democratic state Senator Carol Alvarado, the Texas legislature has moved one step closer to passing a controversial bill that limits voting access.
Alvarado stood in running sneakers – without the benefit of a bathroom break – from 5:50pm Wednesday night until approximately 9am Thursday morning.
Texas Senator Carol Alvarado has entered the 15th hour of her filibuster of the GOP elections bill.
The senator has been on her feet since just before 5:50pm on Wednesday. @CarolforTexas #txlege pic.twitter.com/s7Ejoh3ZFz
— Miguel Gutierrez Jr. (@mgutierrezjr) August 12, 2021
The final remarks of her dramatic stand are our quote of the day (watch above):
“What’s wrong with drive-thru voting during a pandemic? What’s wrong with 24-hour voting? Why can’t we have expanded voting hours for the people who have to work late? Where is all the so-called fraud? Where does it end?”
Alvarado then turned to hug her Democratic colleagues. Minutes later, the bill passed the Senate 18-11. The Texas Tribune provides more details on Alvarado’s speech:
Alvarado filled the time by recounting portions of the history of the fight for voting rights, reading testimony on the bill that her office collected from the public and going over portions of the bill in excruciating detail with assists from Democratic Senate colleagues who took turns asking her lengthy questions, often speaking at a much slower tempo than usual, throughout the night and morning in what appeared at times to be a largely empty Senate chamber.
As the filibuster stretched into the early morning, Alvarado read messages being sent to her by voters and Democratic elected officials urging her effort on.
15 hrs ago I stood to filibuster #SB1 & give a voice to the constituents who this bill attempts to silence.
I know #VoterSuppression anywhere, is a threat to democracy everywhere.🗳
Proud to shine a light on stories of everyday Texans & stand up for the promise of democracy. pic.twitter.com/vN5X2sO3Gd
— Carol Alvarado (@CarolforTexas) August 12, 2021
The legislation now heads to the House, where Republicans have a large majority. But Democrats in the lower chamber have refused to show up, denying the legislative body the quorum needed to approve the bill and send it to Governor Greg Abbott, who has vowed to sign it. Earlier this week, Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan signed civil arrest warrants for the absent lawmakers, hoping to compel them back to the special session. The Associated Press explains:
Refusing to attend legislative sessions is a violation of House rules — a civil offense, not a criminal one, leaving the power the warrants carry to get Democrats back to the chamber unclear, even for the Republicans who invoked it. Democrats would not be jailed. Republican Travis Clardy, who helped negotiate an early version of the voting bill that Democrats first stopped with a walkout in May, told ABC News he believed “they can be physically brought back to the Capitol.”
But Democrats remain defiant. “We broke quorum because anti-voter bills are nefarious attempts to disenfranchise Texans & these authoritarian motions by Republicans just cement that we are on the right side of history,” Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, a Democrat from Austin, wrote on Twitter. “We must hold the line against these desperate attempts to destroy our democracy.”