Texas Is Poised to Make It Easier to Jail People for Voting Errors
BY
Kira Lerner, The Appeal
PUBLISHED
April 15, 2019
In 2018, 43-year-old Crystal Mason was sentenced to five years in prison in Texas for illegally voting with a criminal record. A few months later, Grand Prairie, Texas, resident Rose Ortega lost her appeal of an eight-year prison sentence for voting as a non-U.S. citizen. When she is released from custody, she will most likely be deported back to Mexico.
Under Senate Bill 9, which is making its way through the Texas legislature, stories like Masons and Ortegas would become more common. The bill would increase criminal penalties for voting and give prosecutors more power to bring charges against voters. And crimes that were previously misdemeanors would become state jail felonies punishable by up to two years in state jail and a fine of up to $10,000. Voting advocates say the anti-democracy provisions tucked inside SB 9 alongside measures that would strengthen elections are raising alarms about the future of the right to vote in the state.
Zenén Jaimes Pérez, the advocacy and communications director for the Texas Civil Rights Project, called the bill another assault on voting rights in Texas.
It does that through multiple ways and the main way of doing that is through the broadening of the criminalization of election laws in Texas, he said. Things that normally werent criminal penalties or didnt have as high criminal penalties are enhanced under SB 9.
More:
https://truthout.org/articles/texas-is-poised-to-make-it-easier-to-jail-people-for-voting-errors/
walkingman
(7,660 posts)this kind of stuff. I think it is a clear sign that either our education system in Texas has failed or there is a lot of mental illness in Texas. Either way it is disgusting.
atreides1
(16,093 posts)I don't believe it's the education system or an increase in mental illness...I believe that the majority of voters in Texas are just a bunch of racists, bigoted, religious fanatics...and that their undying support of football over education shows that those same voters would be happier if they could drag their knuckles on the ground and drool...all the while scratching their crotches looking for lunch!!!
walkingman
(7,660 posts)I would have gotten the hell out of here. It all began to change with the election of Reagan and was firmly entrenched with ""W"'s election as Governor in '94. I'm lucky to live in the Austin area where there are a few like minded people but that is changing as well.
Left-face
(59 posts)This is designed to sew confusion for anyone not 100% sure of exactly what election laws are and to dissuade people in general from voting. Suppose you just moved to Texas or even within Texas and unsure where your voting precinct is you're probably going to be a tad nervous about stepping into the ballot box fearful that with any error at all you could end up in prison. This not only affects immigrants, but everyone who might decide to vote.
I lived in Texas for about 10 years and in that ten years my voting precinct was changed numerous times (same address).. The street I lived on was about 6 blocks long with anywhere from zero to 5 different precincts. While I might have had to merely walk across the street to vote my neighbor right next door may have had to drive across town to vote in the same election.. With these laws nobody knows where they can vote and any mistake can land you in prison..
Yeah, it's intended to sew nothing but fear, confusion and people afraid to vote.