State Rep. Jasmine Crockett along with the Texas Progressive Caucus issued a statement on voting rights in Texas after passage of SB1

The newly formed Texas House of Representatives’ Texas Progressive Caucus issued a statement following the passage of Senate Bill 1 that will restrict voting rights in the state.

They called it “the nation’s worst voter suppression bill.”

The statement was sent out by the office of state Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who represents parts of West Dallas, the Design District and South Dallas.

“Today, the nation bore witness to the subversion and diminution of democracy in Texas,” the caucus wrote. “This bill was poisoned from the very beginning and stained with the blood of civil rights leaders and suffragists who sacrificed their lives, and were even killed, for the cause.”

The caucus called the bill retribution against young people, people of color and others who voted against Donald Trump.

“The power of your vote strikes fear in the hearts of Republicans,” they wrote.

They point out that if you help your grandmother vote and make an honest mistake, you could become a felon.

If you’re a person with a disability or a mother with a child strapped into a car seat, your ability to vote may have been taken away.

If you’re a shift worker, polls will close before you get off work.

They urge Congress to pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to stop voting rights in Texas from being rolled back.

— David Taffet