Texas election integrity bill signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott

The Republican-backed Election Integrity bill, delayed by Democratic quorum breaks, was finally signed by Gov. Greg Abbott and turned into law.

The signed Senate Bill 1, amends the state’s election laws to reinforce ballot access and administration.

The bill constrains local control of elections by restricting the county’s ability to expand any voting options.

“One thing that all Texans can agree [on] and that is that we must have trust and confidence in our elections. The bill that I’m about to sign helps to achieve that goal,” Gov. Abbott said before signing the bill in Tyler, Texas.

“The law does however make it harder for fraudulent votes to be cast,” he added.

Gov. Abbott was accompanied by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and the bill’s authors Sen. Bryan Hughes, Rep. Andrew Murr, and other Republican lawmakers.

State Bill 1 will take effect three months after the special legislative session, nearing the 2022 primary elections.

Below are the amendments in the SB1:

Ban on drive-thru voting: Drive-thru voting will be prohibited, several counties used drive-thru voting in the 2020 elections allowing people to cast votes from their cars using portable voting machines.

Ban on 24-hour voting: Early voting sessions will be restricted from 6AM to 10PM.

Ban on distribution of mail-in ballot applications: Distributing applications to request mail-in ballots will be prohibited and considered a felony.

Updated ID requirements for mail-in ballots: Voters must provide their driver’s license, or the last four digits of their Social Security Number in case they don’t have a driver’s license.

Error checking for mail-in ballots: The voters have a chance to make any corrections in their mail-in ballots by using an online correction system that tracks their ballots.

Gov. Abbott says the bill makes it easier than ever before to vote but at the same time makes it harder for people to cheat at the ballot box.