Local legislators leave Austin to stop Voter Restriction bill

State Representative Armando Walle, fourth from left, and other Texas legislators meets with U.S. Senator Alex Padilla in his office in D.C., to discuss federal Voter’s Rights legislation, and the bills in the Texas Legislature that the Democrats say will restrict citizen’s right to vote.
State Representative Armando Walle, fourth from left, and other Texas legislators meets with U.S. Senator Alex Padilla in his office in D.C., to discuss federal Voter’s Rights legislation, and the bills in the Texas Legislature that the Democrats say will restrict citizen’s right to vote.

Democrats Armando W., Senfronia T., and Carol A. among opponents in D.C.

State Representative Walle Travels to D.C. to Stop Voter Suppression Efforts

HOUSTON – State Representative Armando Walle (D-Houston) released the following statement today regarding his joining over 57 Texas House Democratic Caucus members to break quorum to stop legislation restricting voting rights in Texas:

Unfortunately, we are here again in Washington D.C. today because of the choices of Texas Republican leaders to prioritize so-called “Election Integrity” legislation, or more accurately, voter suppression legislation, over the numerous issues that remain unfinished, like fixing and protecting our Texas grid or COVID relief for our constituents or our public health safety net that is a crisis away from collapse.

While I am here, we are visiting and pleading with Congressional leaders to pass voting rights legislation to protect our citizens’ right to vote and participate in our democracy. I will never understand why we are trying to make it more difficult to vote in Texas, a state already considered the hardest to vote in the country.[i]

I know some of you may have heard how the retired teachers’ 13th check is on the line or how we need to reinstate the budget for the legislative branch. These are important priorities, but the House and Senate, including myself, already okayed the legislative budget multiple times in April and May. The Governor made a unilateral decision to veto the budget of the legislative branch and threaten the livelihood of over 2000 employees, most of whom do not even work for elected officials, as a threat to get elected officials to come back to work on this cynical and vindictive election legislation. We also had ample time to move on and pass Rep. Rogers’ 13th check bill, HB 3507, during the regular session, yet the bill did not make it for a vote on House floor.

The reality is the 13th check and the legislative branch’s budget are on the Special Session call because Republican leaders chose to tie those unrelated issues together with the voter suppression legislation and other partisan red meat issues. House Democrats were forced to use this Armando Walle on Voter bill, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 procedural maneuver as a last ditch effort to stall the voter suppression bills and the rest of the bills that Republicans, who control every branch of Texas state government, could not pass during the regular session.

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Rep. Armando Walle is serving his seventh term in the Texas House of Representatives and is as a member of the House Committee on Appropriations, serving as Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Articles VI, VII, VIII. Walle also serves as a member of the House Committees on House Administration and Natural Resources. He represents House District 140, which includes northern portions of unincorporated Harris County and the City of Houston.