Testimony delivered before the Texas House Elections Committee
Date: 04/01/2021
Witness: Joshua Tutt
My name is Josh Tutt. I am a resident of Burleson County, Texas, and I am a member of the Burleson County Democratic Party, where I serve as a recently added precinct chair. I would like to urge the committee to oppose House Bill 6 as written.
I served as an assistant judge at the Cook’s Point precinct on election day last year. I would like to tell you that being an election worker was a difficult job – and it is for many – but honestly, it wasn’t for us. You see, Cook’s point only had 64 voters on election day. What was difficult about it however, was making sure we did everything exactly right for every one of those 64 voters. We stuck to our training and referred to our documents. When we had questions, it was difficult to immediately reach help since our county election administrator was busy helping the small – and I mean small – army of volunteers in our county. It was my first time doing this, and so I was extremely grateful for our presiding judges help and experience.
I worry that this bill will make it harder for us small counties to run elections so smoothly. I worry this bill will criminalize simple human errors and honest mistakes, from folks like me who are just trying our best to help. I worry that the changes in this bill would scare away potential volunteers. And I really worry about the provisions that might cause otherwise valid ballots to be rejected.
Another consequence of this bill would be making it harder for eligible residents of rural counties to access their right to vote by mail, especially our elderly neighbors and our young college student neighbors.
A lot of work goes into making sure our elderly neighbors receive their mail in ballot applications, or get to the polls in person if they prefer. This bill might frighten off some of the amazing helpers in our communities who assist our elderly neighbors with finding and filling out their ballot application, or help them by assisting at the ballot booth itself. We cannot afford to lose their help.
In rural counties like Burleson county, a lot of our young people go away for college. If they go far enough away, even still within Texas, they would be eligible to vote by mail if they won’t be able to make it home during the voting period. I didn’t have a vehicle when I went to college, and I didn’t know I could register to vote on campus. I thought I was just out of luck. Navigating voting laws can already be difficult for college students, and voting turnout for young folks is still low. We cannot afford to make more barriers for our young people who are trying to vote.
Please keep in mind these folks in rural counties and elsewhere. We’re just trying to make do. Please be wary of extra burdens and obstacles that this bill would create for us. I’m sure these are unintended consequences, but nonetheless, I must ask you to please oppose House Bill 6.