Abbott makes it harder for disabled people to vote.

[blameyourself]

Originally Posted by Tigger84Ag

I think Abbott is doing a good job. I am disabled I have no problem with his policies

Glad to hear that. I have a client and good friend who is visually impaired and very close to being blind. She disagrees with you on his handling of this bill.

[Seguinite]

Originally Posted by CarnivalGal

No, it's not. If you don't work, don't have kids (or have and can afford childcare), don't have reliable transportation, or don't have a flexible job or a second / third job, it's not always easy.

Let's start with required ID. My daughter is going through the process of getting a driver's license. I can assure you, it is not easy. And it's not free. Appointments here are scheduled 3 months out. The earliest I could find was one month out, 45 miles away and not accessible by public transportation. DPS is only open M-F, daytime hours. Not everyone can easily take time off of work to spend a couple of hours at DPS. And not everyone gets paid for that time off. People in those jobs are also usually the ones least able to afford to do that. The amount of paperwork required is absurd. And Lord help anyone who doesn't have their birth certificate, because getting that is a whole 'nother headache. And don't forget that a lot of older folks, especially those born in rural areas, weren't born in a hospital, so good luck with that. My daughter was born here, we have all her paperwork, transportation, I have a flexible job, etc. And it is still one of the most frustratingly complicated experiences I've dealt with. And this is my second kid, and it was just as bad the first time.

But let's say you have your ID sorted out. Abbott has closed over 700 polling locations, more than any other state. I don't think it's any coincidence that most of the ones he closed are in historically blue areas. He has limited ballot boxes to one per County, regardless of population. So Harris County, population 4.7 million, has the same number of ballot boxes (one) as Loving County, population 64. Guess which county has a longer wait? Oh, and I'm sure it's just another coincidence that the counties with the largest populations are heavily blue, and the rural areas are heavily red.

But wait, employers are required to give employees "reasonable" paid time off to vote, unless they have 2 consecutive hours off during voting hours. In other words, if someone works 7-5, they have 2 hours (theoretically) to vote, since polls close at 7:00. Thanks to the aforementioned closure of polling locations and ballot box issue, wait times in Houston during the 2020 election were as long as 6 hours. Imagine you are a single mom. You get off at 5:00, wait for a bus, pick up your kids, get on another bus, somehow make it to a polling location at 6:30, and now you need to wait 4 hours in line with 2 small, tired, hungry kids. I guarantee you, that's not easy. Oh, and the time off to vote thing doesn't work so well for people who have more than one job. They probably have 2 consecutive hours off during each job to vote, but since they have to be at another job, they don't really.

If you have never been in any of those situations - a single parent, having several jobs, not having reliable transportation, not having ID or lost ID, living in an area where voting wait times are 6 hours, etc., then, yeah, it may be pretty easy for you. To be honest, it's pretty easy for me. But I also recognize my privilege. And let me say this again, it's no coincidence that the people who fall into the groups most affected by all the voting laws Abbott and crew have passed vote overwhelmingly Democrat.

To the simply italicized... blah blah and BLAH. As KA stated, for the incredibly vast majority of people, it's incredibly easy to vote. And a vast majority of the people whining about the systematic 'disenfranchising' of voters aren't disenfranchised at all... they just need something to hate the 'other side' for. And I expect a vast majority of the few people that actually DO have trouble voting manage to find a way to get it done anyway if they care enough to do it.

As to the bolded, if it was a Democrat governor making these rules, there wouldn't be a problem.

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by blameyourself

No reason for me to notice. I don't know you from Adam nor do I care. I'm happy to address topics and call out nonsense, when it exists.

So we've both stated ever so boldly that we don't care. I guess that's that!

[blameyourself]

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

So we've both stated ever so boldly that we don't care. I guess that's that!

Oh, I care very much about the subject matter. I just don't care about the nonsense of people that try and go off on tangents as opposed to dealing with the specific matter at issue.

And my reply was on point with your comment which pertained to you personally, and as stated...I couldn't care less about you personally (I'm responding to the issue at hand which you just keep dodging)

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by blameyourself

Oh, I care very much about the subject matter. I just don't care about the nonsense of people that try and go off on tangents as opposed to dealing with the specific matter at issue.

And my reply was on point with your comment which pertained to you personally, and as stated...I couldn't care less about you personally (I'm responding to the issue at hand which you just keep dodging)

I am not dodging anything. I just don't care to research this stupid topic anymore, or argue with you anymore (and I'm being kind).

[blameyourself]

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

I am not dodging anything. I just don't care to research this stupid topic anymore, or argue with you anymore (and I'm being kind).

Yawn. The topic...

voters who need help casting a ballot, such as people who are visually impaired or are paralyzed, to do so “privately and securely” by requesting an electronic ballot

The topic was never the vast majority despite the fact that you thought it was okay to go off topic with a little side step.

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

Voting is already easy for the vast majority of people.

Let's try and stay on topic

[KathrynAragon]

Abbott did sign a bill that improves in-person voting for those with disabilities or mobility problems, allowing them to skip the line at their polling location and requiring polling places to designate more than one parking space for curbside voting.

From the article itself.

My gosh, when I voted a few months ago, on something, I can't even remember what now, I voted early because it was most convenient for me. There were TONS of curbside voting options, zero vehicles parked in them, and no line inside. I'm sorry, maybe one person was in front of me. MAYBE. It was a non issue for me but it would still suck to be blind or have mobility issues. It would make everything more difficult.

[blameyourself]

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

From the article itself.

My gosh, when I voted a few months ago, on something, I can't even remember what now, I voted early because it was most convenient for me. There were TONS of curbside voting options, zero vehicles parked in them, and no line inside. I'm sorry, maybe one person was in front of me. MAYBE. It was a non issue for me but it would still suck to be blind or have mobility issues. It would make everything more difficult.

Glad you can realize it would suck to be blind. And visually impaired people (whether blind or partially impaired) have every right to the same privacy options that everyone else have (hence the issue at play....an electronic ballot and no need to use curbside voting). It's simply doesn't seem like you read or understand the issue at question here.

[Threestep2]

Originally Posted by CastletonSnob1

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06...s-abbott-veto/

Would you mind to post an official link to the proposal instead of some biased newspaper article?

[blameyourself]

Originally Posted by Threestep2

Would you mind to post an official link to the proposal instead of some biased newspaper article?

Post #33 has the bill for you to look at it directly