TEXAS - Before Gov. Greg Abbott has even signed the election bill into law, Texas' new voting rules are already being challenged in two federal lawsuits.

What You Need To Know

  • Texas' sweeping new election bill has yet to be signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, but it has already prompted two federal lawsuits

  • The bill bans drive-thru voting, eliminates 24-hour voting and empowers poll watchers 

  • One of the lawsuits, filed in San Antonio, claims the legislation "imposes burdens that will discourage, intimidate and deter eligible Texas voters, and will disproportionately impact voters of color and voters with disabilities" 

  • A spokesperson for Abbott says the bill will "solidify trust and confidence in the outcome of our elections"

Civil rights groups, the top elections official in Harris County and Texans with disabilities all asked the courts to step in Friday. In separate suits filed in Austin and San Antonio, the lawsuits claim the legislation violates a range of federal laws including the Voting Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. They’re asking judges to block the governor and other state officials from enforcing it.

The sweeping elections bill bans drive-through voting, empowers poll watchers and sets new rules, with possible criminal penalties, for those who assist voters in casting their ballots. In the suit filed in San Antonio, the plaintiffs’ legal team argues the legislation “imposes burdens that will discourage, intimidate and deter eligible Texas voters, and will disproportionately impact voters of color and voters with disabilities.”

“Senate Bill 1 will reduce voter participation and discriminate on the basis of race, and for those reasons it should be struck down in court,” Nina Perales, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund Vice President of Litigation, said in a statement. “In addition to making voting more difficult for all voters, S.B. 1 is aimed directly at Latinos and Asian Americans with specific provisions that cut back on assistance to limited English-proficient voters.”

A spokesperson for Gov. Abbott defended the new law in a statement saying Senate Bill 1 will “solidify trust and confidence in the outcome of our elections.”

“Texas is making it easier to vote and harder to cheat, by increasing early voting hours, creating more transparency in the election process, securing every ballot, and ensuring uniform statewide rules,” Abbott spokesperson Renae Eze added.

The second lawsuit was filed in federal court in Austin on behalf of organizations including the League of Women Voters of Texas, Workers Defense Action Fund and the Texas Organizing Project.

“People with disabilities, who make up 20 percent of the U.S. population, already face significant barriers to exercising their legal right to vote, such as physically inaccessible polling sites, election workers refusing to provide accommodations, mail-in ballots that cannot be used by people who are blind, and more,” Lia Sifuentes Davis, Senior Litigation Attorney with Disability Rights Texas, said in a statement. “SB1 is a discriminatory bill that creates more unnecessary barriers and silences the voices of Texans with disabilities as well as Texans of color.”

To read the lawsuit filed in San Antonio, click here. 

To read the lawsuit filed in Austin, click here.