Representative Marc Veasey (D-TX) said Monday on MSNBC that the Texas Senate Bill 7, a Republican-backed bill tightening election rules, was something you would see done “in Zimbabwe or Venezuela.”
Texas Democrats stopped the passage of the bill Sunday in a walkout that blocked the necessary quorum required to pass the law.
Governor Greg Abbott (R) vowed to pass the measure into law in the next legislative session.
Veasey said, “When you say that you can overturn an election based on crazy tropes and racial stereotypes about Texas citizens, it’s just absolutely insane that they’re even thinking about that. So imagine any close race that Republicans wanted to go and overturn. They would be able to do so with that provision. That’s not something that happens in our country, that’s something that you think about happening, you know, in, you know, in Zimbabwe or Venezuela or some other country that’s not industrialized and has issues dealing around freedom and democracy. Our country is supposed to be the shining light and beacon of freedom and democracy around the world, and we certainly can’t be a model for others if we are going to turn to third-world suppression voter — voter suppression tactics here in Texas and in other states around the country.”
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