Transcript of segment: I’d like to begin with one simple question— Where are the priorities of the Texas government? Let me tell you what they’re not.
They’re not the horrific scarcity of ICU beds and ambulances across the state. They’re not the climbing COVID-19 cases among the unvaccinated and our children. They’re not fixing the state's failing power grid. They’re not providing adequate drainage to low-income neighborhoods that flood year after year. They’re not the schools to keep teachers and kids safe in a pandemic.
Instead, Governor Abbott’s priority is to take away our civil and human rights— one legislative session at a time.
On Tuesday, Governor Abbott signed into law the controversial voter suppression bill known as SB1. According to our friends at MOVE Texas, we were “already considered the most restrictive state for voting rights in the country.” This new law makes an already bad situation even worse.
For border residents, these bad politics coming from the Texas Capitol can make us feel left out. These politics should not represent who we are as a state.
But we won’t stop fighting for our rights. Border voters and Texans are no strangers to attacks against our access to the ballot box. Bad laws have tried to keep us from the polls throughout history. And just like the rest of the US, people of color in the Valley have had to fight for fair and equal representation.
In July, LUPE members rallied outside of State Rep. Armando Martinez’ office. We wanted to show our support of the historic House walkout to block Abbott’s first attempt at passing the anti-voter law.
Other community organizations such as ARISE and ACLU of Texas, also joined us. Here are some clips from that rally in Weslaco.
A couple weeks after that, LUPE members traveled to Austin to join the Texas March for Democracy. It was a 27-mile march organized by the Poor People’s Campaign. Here’s some footage from the four-day march
And now, LUPE is challenging Texas’ voter suppression law in federal court. LUPE and other civil rights groups are represented by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund), the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, and other law firms.
Nina Perales, the vice president of litigation at MALDEF, said that “SB1 will reduce voter participation and discriminate on the basis of race, and for those reasons it should be struck down in court. In addition to making voting more difficult for all voters, SB1 is aimed directly at Latinos and Asian Americans with specific provisions that cut back on assistance to limited English-proficient voters.”
We will not stay silent as greedy politicians try to take away our power. We're fighting for a future for everyone. A future in which everyone is treated with dignity and has the opportunity to thrive. And we hope you will join us too.
