SB7

A bill to overhaul voting rules in the state failed to pass in the Texas House on Sunday night in a victory for Democrats and voting rights advocates. Sunday was the last day of the legislative session that the bill, Senate Bill 7, could have been passed, but it may be brought up again in the future.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott says on Twitter that he will veto funding for the state Legislature after Democratic lawmakers walked out, blocking passage of new voting restrictions.

Senate Bill 7 would have added restrictions to in-person voting and mail-in ballots and created a slew of new criminal penalties for voters and election workers in Texas.

Midnight was the deadline for the House to approve the legislation that would alter nearly the entire voting process, create new limitations to early voting hours, ratchet up voting-by-mail restrictions and curb local voting options.

Senate Bill 7 includes provisions to limit early voting hours, curtail local voting options and further tighten voting-by-mail. The upper chamber suspended its own rules to approve it after debating it for hours overnight