Originally published June 15, 2023 7:24 am PDT
In a significant move by the state government, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill into law this week that categorizes election fraud as a felony rather than a misdemeanor.
This substantial policy motion comes after the illegal voting offense had been classified as a misdemeanor for two years following a change in the law made by House Republicans.
This bill, championed by Rep. Cole Hefner of Mount Pleasant, could impose a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison for anyone found guilty of voter fraud, The Dallas Morning News reports.
According to Hefner and other supporters, the law reinstates the penalty for illegal voting that had been in place for nearly half a century, aiming to bolster public trust in the electoral process.
Hefner expressed his belief during a House hearing held on April 27 that “We have made tremendous strides toward election integrity in recent years, but we must ensure Texans are confident the legitimate votes they cast will be counted and are not canceled out by someone who has knowingly or intentionally cast an illegal ballot.”
This new law, among other things, instates stricter voter ID verification procedures for mail-in ballots, resulting in a sharp increase in the number of rejected ballots.
It also criminalized the solicitation of mail-in ballots by local election officials.
Interestingly, a provision in this law, backed by House Republicans, decreased the punishment for election fraud from a felony to a misdemeanor.
Rep. Steve Allison of San Antonio, the lawmaker behind this shift, later revealed that the reduction in penalty was proposed by the attorney general’s office to facilitate plea agreements in return for witness testimonies.
However, Attorney General Ken Paxton fervently denied having sought such a change, according to Dallas Morning News.
The reduction in the penalty for election fraud was met with strong opposition from many Republican leaders, including Lt. Gov Dan Patrick.
Patrick had earlier this year identified raising the punishment for election fraud as one of the Senate’s key objectives.
The final version of the bill signed by Gov. Abbott, though being a toned-down variant of the initial Senate proposal, retains the provision to elevate the penalty for election fraud.
The Senate’s original proposal could have potentially criminalized common errors in the provisional ballot process, such as attempting to vote after the registration deadline.
