Texas Senate Passes Restrictive Voting Bill After Democrat’s 15-Hour Filibuster

The Texas state Senate voted Thursday morning to advance a bill that would make voting more difficult statewide after one Democratic member spent 15 hours delaying its passage by filibuster.

The Democrat, state Sen. Carol Alvarado of Houston, began speaking early Wednesday evening, clad in running shoes and a back brace on Day 5 of a special legislative session convened by Gov. Greg Abbott (R). She was not permitted to sit or lean against her desk, take bathroom breaks, eat a snack or drink water for the duration of her filibuster.

At issue was Senate Bill 1, the latest iteration of a Republican effort to tighten voting laws in Texas on the pretense that voter fraud affected the 2020 presidential election results, despite a complete lack of evidence that such fraud was widespread and unchecked. This Republican effort led more than 50 Texas Democrats to flee the state in July.