Texas GOP’s voting restriction bill passes key House vote

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas has become the latest Republican-dominated state to advance sweeping new limits on voting, despite no evidence of any problems with last year’s vote and a coalition of state and federal officials calling the 2020 presidential election the most secure in history. The key vote at 3 a.m. Friday in the Texas House followed hours of debate, with lawmakers now negotiating the final version of the legislation that will need approval before heading to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who has broadly defended the measures. In other states including Florida, Georgia and Iowa, Republican lawmakers have used unsubstantiated claims by former President Donald Trump to justify new voting restrictions.