Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 2, 2025

CONTACT: press@securedemocracyusa.org

Efforts to Support Texas Voter Freedom, Secure Elections Move to Governor’s Desk

Burdensome, costly new requirements for proof of citizenship fail to advance while existing strong checks and balances ensure only citizens vote in Texas elections

AUSTIN, Texas–As the 89th Texas Legislature concludes its regular session, efforts to strengthen Texas elections and support voter freedom saw progress with improvements to the state’s mail ballot cure process and an extension of the state’s no-excuses early voting period. 

Secure Democracy USA’s Senior Policy Director Daniel Griffith provided the following statement on these bills and other actions taken by the Texas Legislature:

“As the 89th Regular Session concludes, the Texas Legislature delivered important wins for Texas voters and secure elections, while rejecting the most dangerous and burdensome proposals. Secure Democracy USA thanks Senate State Affairs Chairman Bryan Hughes, House Elections Chairman Matt Shaheen, and House Elections Vice-Chairman John Bucy and their staff for working in good faith on ensuring voters and local election officials are prioritized in creating election policy this session.” 

Notably, Gov. Abbott has signed S.B. 2964, a bipartisan bill that improves upon the state’s mail ballot cure process, enhancing voter accessibility and ensuring that all eligible votes are counted.

The legislature also passed S.B. 2216 and S.B. 2217, which create new requirements to ensure consistency, transparency, and accountability for ballot privacy, election equipment security, election data reporting and reconciliation across all voting jurisdictions. The legislature also passed S.B. 2753, which will extend Texas’ early voting period beginning on or before Sept. 1, 2027. The legislature also passed H.B. 2259, which requires official early ballot application form instructions to be provided with early ballot applications and to be available in languages appropriate to Texas demographics. 

While issues around citizenship and voting were at the forefront of debate this year in the legislature, the most burdensome measures that would have mandated Texas’s 18.6 million registered voters – including seniors and lifelong Texans who’ve voted for several decades and all future voters – provide proof of citizenship, such as a passport or certified birth certificate, to cast a ballot (S.B. 16 / H.B. 5337) were rightly rejected. The legislature did pass a constitutional amendment (S.J.R. 37) that will go before Texas voters on Nov. 4 that would add language to the Texas Constitution stating a person must be a U.S. citizen to vote in Texas, a requirement already codified in state and federal law.  

###

Secure Democracy USA is a nonpartisan, 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization building stronger elections, state by state. We advocate for practical election policy solutions guided by research and supported across the ideological spectrum.