Texas Senate gives first OK to make illegal voting a felony again

The Texas Senate on Monday gave initial approval, on a 19–12 vote, to legislation that would raise the penalty for voting illegally from a misdemeanor to a felony, a priority for Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and other conservative lawmakers who have worked to remake the state’s voting laws since the 2020 election, despite the lack of evidence of widespread voter fraud in Texas.

If Senate Bill 2 becomes law, a person found guilty of the crime could face up to 20 years in prison and more than $10,000 in fines.

The debate on the floor Monday between Democratic lawmakers and Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, the bill’s author, focused heavily on what constitutes illegal voting. Lawmakers disagreed over whether, under the bill, a person who mistakenly votes illegally could be prosecuted. Democrats pointed to examples such as a person who knows they have been convicted of a felony but doesn’t realize that makes them ineligible to vote or a person who knows they are not a U.S. citizen but does not know that makes them ineligible.

Some Democratic lawmakers told Hughes they were worried such voters would be prosecuted for “innocent mistakes.”

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/03/13/texas-senate-illegal-voting-felony-vote/