The ‘Death Star’ Bill Is About Kneecapping Democracy in Texas
The ‘Death Star’ Bill Is About Kneecapping Democracy in Texas
www.texasobserver.org
The ‘Death Star’ Bill Is About Kneecapping Democracy in Texas
From the article:
The bill’s sweeping, alleged purpose is stated in its opening sections: “returning sovereign regulatory powers to the state where those powers belong.” However, closer examination suggests that the legislation’s real intent is both narrower and potentially more profound than just upending city ordinance-making powers.
Just saw this over on Mastodon. I can't stand that these pricks are still in charge. And the fact that we still have massive voter disengagement allowing them to stay there is all the more depressing.
Disengagement is the wrong term when “disengaging” people is a deliberate political strategy. Also your state is famous for stuffing ballot boxes. That history lingers.
I say disengaged to reflect the sentiment of giving up due to the suppression. Biden came within a million votes of winning Texas in 2020, amidst 66% voter turnout. Turnout dropped to under 50% in 2022 and Abbott/Patrick/Paxton coasted to victory. The suppression only works at the state level because the targeted voters disengaged from the process. If we had instead doubled down and gotten up to 70% turnout, we may have seen a Democratic sweep at the state level.
I mean, would you vote in Texas? Where everything's so gerrymandered that attempting any kind of blue takeover requires extensive cooperation with rural areas. And sure, you might say that gerrymandering doesn't apply to the governorship, however it does apply to the accessability of polling locations. Combine that with a general feeling that democrats see Texas as a lost cause and aren't interested in actually sending their best, and, well, you really shouldn't be surprised when most Texans are so disillusioned with the system that they can't drag themselves out to vote.
Edit: didn't realize this was in a Texas community. The sentiment still stands though.
I live in Texas, so I absolutely do vote. More Texans voted for Biden than New Yorkers in 2020, when we had 66% turnout.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_United_States_presidential_election_in_Texas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_United_States_presidential_election_in_New_York
Paxton himself said Biden would have won Texas if he hadn't shut down mail-in voting.
https://www.newsweek.com/texas-ag-says-trump-wouldve-lost-state-if-it-hadnt-blocked-mail-ballots-applications-being-1597909
So I reject the idea that Texas is a lost cause. If we were, Republicans wouldn't still be trying so hard to suppress our voice. If we could just get the turnout we would win the state-wide offices. Then we could tackle the gerrymandering and have a representative legislature. We just have to actually get out and vote, instead of the craptacular 2022 midterm <50% turnout that saw Abbott, Patrick, and Paxton all reelected.