Rep. Erin Zwiener Files Three Elections Bills

Austin, TX — In her freshman session, Rep. Erin Zwiener has filed three bills aimed at improving elections and ballot access in Texas.

HB 2276 is a reaction to Hays County’s difficulties during early voting in 2018, while the other two bills are common sense steps to make sure all who are eligible can vote without undue burden.

“Every eligible Texan deserves fair access to cast their ballot,” said Rep. Zwiener. “Texas has one of the lowest rates of voter turnout in the nation. It’s the legislature’s job to remove superfluous barriers from voting.”

HB 2276 allows changes such as notices of additional temporary branch polling place locations, dates, and hours to be made available after early voting has begun.

“Hays County experienced some issues during the early voting period in 2018,” said Rep. Zwiener. “The county worked quickly to correct them, but mandated that any changes?including simply adding more time?required public notice five days before the start of early voting. The unnecessary notice almost prevented Hays County from extending polling times in response to historic voter turnout.”

HB 1950 would allow Texas college students to vote with their state university student ID.

“When young Texans engage in the electoral process, they stay engaged for the rest of their lives,” said Rep. Zwiener. “Texas has one of the lowest rates of voter turnout in the nation. Let’s fix that by removing unnecessary barriers between our university students and the ballot box.”

HB 2274 would extend the period in which a vote-by-mail application is considered valid from a single year to a full four years.

“This is a problem that made itself apparent when I was knocking on doors in my own election,” said Rep. Zwiener. “Many of our Texas seniors assume their vote-by-mail application is good for life and don’t realize they have to reapply each year. This causes confusion and leaves many of elderly voters, particularly those with mobility issues, unable to vote. Extending the window so people don’t have reapply every year is a common sense fix.”