Several companies based in Texas are urging state lawmakers to back off plans to change election laws.
Thursday night, the House Elections Committee heard hours of testimony on HB 6, which would ban counties from sending mail-in ballot applications without a request.
Early Thursday morning, following seven hours of debate, the Texas Senate advanced SB 7, which would limit voting hours and ban drive-thru voting.
"Earlier this morning, the Texas State Senate passed legislation with provisions that limit voting access," American Airlines wrote in a statement Thursday. "To make American’s stance clear: We are strongly opposed to this bill and others like it. As a Texas-based business, we must stand up for the rights of our team members and customers who call Texas home, and honor the sacrifices made by generations of Americans to protect and expand the right to vote."
AT&T, based in Dallas, has not responded to a specific bill, but says it does plan to work with a "business roundtable" to "enhance every person’s ability to vote."
“We understand that election laws are complicated, not our company’s expertise and ultimately the responsibility of elected officials, but, as a company, we have a responsibility to engage," the company said in a statement.
Michael Dell, chief executive of Dell Technologies, based in Round Rock, tweeted, "Free, fair, equitable access to voting is the foundation of American democracy. Those rights - especially for women, communities of color - have been hard-earned. Governments should ensure citizens have their voices heard. HB6 does the opposite, and we are opposed to it."
Republicans have supported the measures, saying SB 7 only intends to protect the integrity of elections. In last year's primary, a state district judge ordered a recount when 9,149 ballots from 44 machines were found in Dallas County. The missed ballots did not alter the results of any race.
A federal judge ordered sweeps of postal service facilities after the November election, when 815 mail-in ballots were discovered at 14 facilities in Texas.
"We know there are problems with voting by mail," the Dallas County Republican Party's Will Busby said in an interview last week. "In Dallas County, just last fall, the elections administration couldn't keep an accurate count of applications received or ballots sent out. Some people never got ballots they requested. Others went to the wrong address. This bill simply upholds election integrity and restores the trust of people in our electoral system, which, as public servants, should be something we make sure is our top priority."
Busby says the bills do not prevent people from voting and encouraged people to read the measures.
Senate Bill 7: READ HERE
House Bill 6: READ HERE