Texas Senate Passes More Registration Restrictions
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Texas Senate passed another voter suppression bill on Wednesday, this time further restricting who can register to vote. Senate Bill 1111 would prohibit a person from registering to vote using a private P.O. box as their address. Currently about 4,800 voters are registered at private P.O. boxes in Houston alone. Under S.B. 1111, all of these voters — and thousands more across Texas — would be required to provide proof of residence to remain registered to vote.
For many eligible voters, P.O. boxes are their only means of receiving mail and voting in elections. Native Americans who live on reservations especially rely on P.O. boxes because their homes often lack street addresses. Creating this unnecessary hurdle could disenfranchise thousands of eligible voters. S.B. 1111 will now go to the Texas House.