Texas Dems encouraging federal takeover of elections, GOP Rep. Taylor says

Judy Woodruff:

Texas lawmakers fighting against a restrictive voting bill took their case to Washington today, as President Biden made his push for strengthening voting rights laws nationwide.

Yamiche Alcindor talks to leaders on both sides of the issue.

But, first, Lisa Desjardins has some background.

Lisa Desjardins:

For Texas Democrats, a very public getaway.

Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-TX :

We are not going to buckle to the big lie in the state of Texas.

Lisa Desjardins:

More than 50 Democratic state lawmakers are now in Washington, D.C., after fleeing Austin to take a stand on voting laws.

Their exit left Republicans in the Texas House gaveling without the minimum quorum of people present, unable to take a vote on new election laws they say increase security, but which Democrats insist amount to suppression.

In the current Texas proposal, bans on 24-hour and drive-through voting, new I.D. requirements for mail-in ballots, and more access for partisan poll watchers during counting.

Republican Governor Greg Abbott pushed back.

Gov. Greg Abbot:

Anyone who suggests this deprives anybody of the right to vote is simply flat-out wrong.

Lisa Desjardins:

Republicans in the partially empty chamber said Democrats are playing politics.

Rep. Morgan Meyer, R-TX:

If a quorum is not present, can those of us who have stayed in the Capitol to do the jobs we were elected to do take up bills on the floor? Are we able to take those issues up while the Democrats are in Washington, D.C.?

Lisa Desjardins:

The GOP has the votes to get the bill to Abbott's desk. But Democrats have blocked it so far with dramatic procedural moves, like walking out in the final moments of May's regular session to deny a quorum then.

That led to the current special session. Democrats admit this is not a long-term solution.

Rep. Chris Turner, D-TX:

We can't hold this tide back forever. We're buying some time. We need Congress and all of our federal leaders to use that time wisely.

Lisa Desjardins:

They say the For the People Act could block some of the ideas in the Texas bill.

Rep. Rhetta Bowers, D-TX:

Texas Democrats will use everything in our power to fight back. But we need Congress to act now.

Lisa Desjardins:

But Democrats in Congress don't have a clear path for that yet, leaving the president's voice as one of the most direct tools for their party. And, today, he used it.

President Joe Biden:

We're facing the most significant test of our democracy since the Civil War. I'm not saying this to alarm you. I'm saying this because you should be alarmed.

I'm also saying this. There's good news. It doesn't have to be this way. It doesn't have to be, for real. We have the means. We just need the will.

Lisa Desjardins:

Speaking in Philadelphia, President Joe Biden gave a sweeping speech, saying the right to vote is a patriotic cause. He charged that current Republican proposals are blatant racial suppression.

President Joe Biden:

The 21st century Jim Crow assault is real. It's unrelenting. And we're going to challenge it vigorously.

Lisa Desjardins:

Back in Texas, Abbott says he's had enough of Democrats' tactics.

Gov. Greg Abbott:

As soon as they come back into the state of Texas, they will be arrested. They will be cabined inside the Texas Capitol until they get their job done.

Lisa Desjardins:

Lone Star Democrats have promised to stay away until at least the end of this special session, which wraps August 7. But at that point, Republicans can just call another one.

For the "PBS NewsHour, " I'm Lisa Desjardins.

Yamiche Alcindor:

For a Republican perspective on voting legislation in Washington and Texas, I'm joined by Congressman Van Taylor. He just returned to Washington from his district near Dallas. He also previously served in the Texas legislature.

Thanks so much for being here, Congressman.

It has been a wild 24 hours. The governor of your state is calling for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested. Lawmakers are, of course, now in D.C., not wanting to be part of the state legislature.

What do you make of the last 24 hours? And do you think it's appropriate for the governor to be calling for these lawmakers to be arrested?

Rep. Van Taylor, R-TX:

Well, the Democratic lawmakers should do their job. They were hired by their districts and asked by the state of Texas to show up and work on legislation in Austin.

That's what they should be doing. This is — unfortunately, you're seeing the rank partisanship and brokenness of Washington, D.C., infect the Texas legislature. And that's really unfortunate.

What we want to see is legislation that makes our elections secure, that makes it easy to vote. And what we don't want to see is the kind of Washington-style federal takeover of elections that gets rid of voter I.D. laws, that uses taxpayer money to pay for attack ads.

These are the kind of things that Americans don't want. And what Texans expect is our legislature — legislators show up to work and do their job. Ten million taxpayers showed up to the office today. But unfortunately, 51 members of Texas House decided they didn't need to do theirs.

Yamiche Alcindor:

Now, you say you don't want D.C. partisanship to infect Texas lawmakers, but you are part, of course, the Problem Solvers Caucus here in Washington, D.C. It's Democrats and Republicans negotiating, saying that they're going to work on issues together.

Do Democrats in Texas have a point here when they say that Republicans in Texas, they don't want to hear their input, they just want to ram through these GOP-backed voting laws without hearing at all from Democrats?

Rep. Van Taylor:

Certainly, that's not my experience.

In my time in the Texas legislature, Democrats were given a seat at the table. They were given an opportunity to give their input on whether it was a budget. The budget this session in Texas, I think 97 percent of the Texas legislators, Republicans and Democrats, voted for the budget.

They're given committee chairmanships. They're given a seat at the table. And Democrats decided yesterday they're walking away from their seat at the table. So they have a seat at the table. They have an opportunity for input. And they decided they didn't want to take advantage of that, in fact, want to just put sand in the gears and try to stop the process entirely.

Yamiche Alcindor:

And I want to zoom out a bit.

President Biden and other Democrats have said that these voting laws that we're seeing passed by Republicans all over the country, that they are a form of Jim Crow laws, of course, these racist laws in American history.

What do you make of that, and the fact that they're saying that these laws specifically target black people, people of color, some of whom, of course, died for their access to the ballot box?

Rep. Van Taylor:

Well, I mean, the hypocrisy is just — is rich.

You take the United States who comes from the state of Delaware. There's no early voting in Delaware. And he's trying to lecture Texas about expanding its early voting opportunities. I mean, it's just — it's hard to fathom where he's coming from.

At the end of the day, Texas — and I like to say, in my home county, Collin County, we have done a lot to pioneer and innovate and get more people to the ballot box. And we actually had one of the highest voter participation of any county in the state of Texas, and we want to see more people vote. Voting is a good thing. It makes our democracy full.

But you want to have people that have confidence in their voting system. And this kind of rank hypocrisy of someone lecturing you and saying, hey, we don't have early voting, but you do, you're the one that are trying to suppress the vote, is just — it's just absurd.

Yamiche Alcindor:

And you say you want to expand access to voting.

And, of course, a record number of people cast their ballots in the last election. You have said, as — you have said, Congressman, that President Biden legitimately won the election. State and federal officials have said that this last election was the most secure election in American history.

So why are these laws needed if we had a secure election, if we had a president who was legitimately elected?

Rep. Van Taylor:

Well, it comes down to the basic question of, how much voter fraud is too much? And I think any…

Yamiche Alcindor:

But there's no massive voter fraud.

Rep. Van Taylor:

Well, I — and, look, unfortunately, in my experience, and — in the Texas legislature and in Congress, I have run into voter fraud. And it's a very upsetting thing when you find it. It's deeply upsetting because you realize someone's vote was taken from them.

And you also realize that people were elected that should not have been elected. And that's not right. And so I think you want to make sure that you have a system that's foolproof, that's airtight.

And, look, I have worked on those kinds of bills in the Texas legislature. And most of those I passed were largely bipartisan, because, mostly, people agree on how you want to make your elections more secure.

But, sometimes, these Washington, D.C., ideas infect into Austin, and that's why you're seeing this kind of partisanship and this brinksmanship of leaving the state, getting out of your — not doing your own job, and then the hypocrisy of trying to lecture other people how they should do their jobs.

Yamiche Alcindor:

Well, again, I want to just reiterate that state and federal officials have said that the last election was the most secure in American history. But I take your points.

Thank you so much for joining us, Congressman Taylor.

Rep. Van Taylor:

Sure. Great to be with you.