John,

The Texas Legislature ended its second special session of the year, called at the direction of Gov. Abbott, late last night. The result extends an extreme agenda that Texans saw on full display during the regular legislative session.

The governor had a real opportunity to lead. He failed Texans again.

Gov. Abbott saw our electric grid buckle and presided over a resurgence of COVID-19 infections that continues to impact many aspects of our everyday lives. Those are just two of the very real problems Texans are facing, but the governor made a conscious choice to largely ignore both. Instead, the governor — with the help of his friends in the Legislature — delivered a state where it is now even harder to vote, women are practically banned from obtaining the abortion care they seek, teachers risk their jobs if they teach accurate history, and anyone can carry a gun openly without a permit or training.

To be clear, much of what this Legislature passed at the governor’s request is unpopular with most in this state. It should be obvious now to all fair-minded Texans that Gov. Abbott will only get the message if it is delivered via the ballot box. Yes, it will now be harder to vote, but we call on Texans to do what they can to overcome those unnecessary barriers and vote next year and in every election after that.

A gift to TFN’s Rapid Response Fund ensures that we are able to respond quickly to urgent threats and whatever Gov. Abbott throws our way.

For our part, we will do everything we can to let the public know what Gov. Abbott has done while also continuing our efforts to register every possible eligible Texan to vote. And we will need to prepare for yet another special session focused on redistricting and more in the coming weeks.

Despite what we see from our state government, we still believe Texas is a great place with great people, and they deserve a government that works for them, not against them.

In the fight,

Val Benavidez
TFN President