What would the voting bill Texas Democrats are protesting by fleeing the state do?
More than 50 Texas House Democrats boarded flights from Texas to Washington, D.C. on Monday afternoon to break quorum and deny Republicans the ability to pass new voting restrictions during the state's special legislative session. Here's a closer look. Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 3, explained  Texas Democrats are attempting to block election and voting reforms proposed in two sweeping GOP bills that passed through respective committees Sunday: Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 3. Among its provisions, SB 1 would:   Ban drive-thru voting or casting a ballot from inside a vehicle unless participating in curbside voting due to a disability.  Ban overnight voting by requiring polls to be open a minimum of nine hours from between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.   Require election officials to install a video surveillance system that records vote-counting activities, with a livestream made available to the public in counties with 100,000 residents or more.  Protect partisan poll watchers' ability to observe election activity inside polling places and vote-counting centers, including making it a crime to deny access to a poll watcher. Watchers also would be allowed to observe curbside voting that takes place inside a vehicle.  Require election officials in large counties to install tracking software to monitor "all input and activity" on electronic devices used to count votes.  Boost ID requirements on mail-in ballots by requiring votes to include a driver's license number or last four digits of a Social Security number on a vote-by-mail application and the envelope containing their ballot.  Require those who help a voter cast a ballot due to language or physical needs to fill out a document listing their name, address and relationship to the voter and indicate if they're being paid by a candidate or political committee. Those who drive three or more people to the polls also would have to fill out a similar form unless all vehicle occupants are family members. HB 3, filed Wednesday, contains many of the same provisions. In addition, it would:   Make it a crime for public officials to offer or send vote-by-mail applications to those who have not requested an application. Senate Bill 7, explained  SB 1 and HB 3 resemble the failed Senate Bill 7, which Democrats killed in the closing hours of the Legislature's regular session that ended May 31 by walking off the floor in the middle of debate, breaking quorum and forcing the House to adjourn. However, neither measure includes the two controversial provisions that were late additions to SB 7: a process that would have made it easier to overturn election results based on claims of fraud, and ban on Sunday morning voting, when "Souls to the Polls" events are popular among Black churches during early voting.