A handful of proposed bills aimed at improving elections across the entire state, as well as access to ballots, could soon be up for debate by state legislators.
One of those pieces of legislation, House Bill (HB) 2276 authored by State Rep. Erin Zwiener (D-Driftwood), is in direct reaction to early voting difficulties experienced at a handful of polling sites in Hays County.
“Extending the window so people don’t have to reapply every year is a common sense fix.”
–State Rep. Erin Zwiener (D-Driftwood)
HB 2276 allows entities to make changes to public notices to accommodate additional polling place locations, dates and hours after the early voting period has begun. The idea of the bill came after Hays County leaders were forced to add early voting days at three polling sites, including one at Texas State University, during the 2018 midterm election. A higher-than-expected turnout, mixed with limited days and times for early voting at several sites, led to long lines and allegations of voter suppression.
The Hays Free Press reported just over 1,900 of the 4,100 registered voters in Pct. 334, which includes Texas State University and the surrounding area, participated in the 2018 midterm elections.
Zwiener said that while the county worked quickly to correct the issues, mandated state public notice rules required the county to issue an updated one to account for the changes.
“The unnecessary notice almost prevented Hays County from extending polling times in response to historic voter turnout,” Zwiener said.
Zwiener also finalized crafting HB 1950, which would allow Texas college students to vote using their university issued student ID card. Currently, voters must provide a valid Texas or government-issued ID or a voter’s registration card to participate in the elections process.
When the younger generation engages in the electoral process, they stay engaged “for the rest of their lives,” Zwiener said, citing Texas’ historically low voter turnout rate.
“Let’s fix that by removing unnecessary barriers between our university students and ballot box,” Zwiener said.
Meanwhile, HB 2274 aims to extend the vote-by-mail application from its current period of one year to a full four years. Zwiener said the issue came up when she was block-walking during her run for the House District 45 seat.
Zwiener said most Texas senior citizens assume their vote-by-mail application is good for life; however, the state requires vote-by-mail applicants to re-apply each year.
“This causes confusion and leaves many elderly voters, particularly those with mobility issues, unable to vote,” Zwiener said. “Extending the window so people don’t have to reapply every year is a common sense fix.”
