The following is a statement from Michelle Tremillo, Co-Executive Director of the Texas Organizing Project (TOP), on a study released this week showing the alarming impact that Texas voter restriction laws are having on people trying to vote by mail this election:
“Texas Republicans’ new laws restricting voting by mail in our state are nothing more than the brazen disenfranchisement of communities of color, with voters of color being 50 percent more likely than white voters to have their ballots rejected.
“A new study from the Brennan Center states that while the ballot/application rejection rate for Black voters was at 17 percent, and Latino voters at 16 percent, the rejection rate for white voters was less than 12 percent. For ballots only, Latino voters were rejected at nearly 15 percent, and Black voters at almost 14 percent; in contrast, the ballot rejection rate for white voters was a mere 9 percent.
“These disparities aren’t coincidental; this is clear-cut voter suppression. The far-right knows they can only win elections when they suppress our vote, and TOP is as committed as ever to mobilizing Black and Latino voters to make our voices heard at the ballot box each and every election cycle. ”
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Texas Organizing Project organizes Black and Latino communities in Dallas, Harris, Bexar, and Fort Bend counties with the goal of transforming Texas into a state where working people of color have the power and representation they deserve. For more information, visit organizetexas.org.
This statement was sent out October 21, 2022.