Texas voting reform isn't Jim Crow

Texas Senate Democrats vacationing in Washington, DC, are spreading the whoppers around. Joe Biden is doing his part to spread the BS, too. Biden said that "They want to make it so hard and inconvenient that they hope people don't vote at all. This year alone, 17 states have enacted, not just proposed, but enacted, 28 new laws to make it harder for Americans to vote. The 21st century Jim Crow assault is real. It's unrelenting. We're going to challenge it vigorously."

That's just 4 sentences but there's much to fact-check in those sentences. To do that, we'll need to know what's actually in the bill. House Bill 3 "would make it a crime for public officials to offer or send vote-by-mail applications to those who have not requested one." Senate Bill 1 would ban "drive-thru voting or casting a ballot from inside a vehicle unless participating in curbside voting due to a disability. A ban would also be placed on overnight voting, requiring polls to be open a minimum of nine hours from between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m."

Further, "Election officials would also be required to install a video surveillance system that records vote-counting activities, with a livestream made available to the public in counties with 100,000 residents or more. Those in large counties would also be required to install tracking software to monitor 'all input and activity' on electronic devices used to count votes."

That isn't "Jim Crow on steroids", as Biden has called it in the past. Let's ask a set of simple questions. First, though, let's admit that all laws place restrictions on either people or government. That being established, it's then essential to determine whether legislation places a mild restriction on people, a significant restriction on people or whether it makes very difficult.

Biden has a pattern of spreading misinformation & he's at it again today.

The #txlege is passing a law that EXPANDS early voting hours & prevents mail-in ballot fraud.

Texas is making it EASIER to vote & harder to cheat. pic.twitter.com/DGTob0obYc

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) July 13, 2021

Restricting curbside voting for able-bodied voters isn't imposing a difficult restriction on people. Banning 24/7 voting isn't imposing a difficult restriction on people, especially when that restriction is coupled with lengthy daytime voting hours.

The Biden schtick is based on hyperbole like this:

The confederates back then never breached the Capitol, as insurrectionists did on January the 6. I'm not saying this to alarm you. I'm saying this because you should be alarmed.

We must pass the For the People Act," he said of the sweeping voting rights legislation passed by the House but blocked by Republicans in the Senate. "It's a national imperative." The bill has no Senate Republican support and would need 10 Republican votes to pass.

"We must also fight for the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, to restore and expand voting protections and prevent voter suppression," the president said. This bill, which has not yet been introduced, has the support of one Republican, Senator Lisa Murkowski.

 The Democrats' legislation isn't required because the states' laws don't impose a significant restriction on voters. Joe Biden's whining about Jim Crow won't change that reality. This is nothing more than Democrats trying to pass legislation that would give them a major partisan advantage.

Republicans shouldn't hesitate in pushing back against Joe Biden's Democrats. Thus far, that's what Republicans have done.