BRAZOS COUNTY, TX — The Texas legislature is not giving up on the election integrity bill after it failed in the regular session. It's set to be up for a second round of voting.
The 87th Texas legislative session ended in a walk-out protest. Now days into the special session discussion over senate bill one has sparked intensely once again.
Trudy Hancock has served as the Brazos County election administrator for the last 6 years.
“But prior to that I was the election administrator for Robertson county for almost 12 years,” said Trudy Hancock, Elections Administrator for Brazos County.
She has witnessed a lot of change over the years. But last year's presidential election was something she has never seen before, in a good way.
“We had a record turnout even in the midst of the pandemic," added Hancock. "We voted over 80 thousand people which was like 75 percent turnout i think which is unprecedented,”
Some who support the election integrity bill say the integrity of the 2020 election was impacted, but Hancock denies these claims.
“I can’t speak for other states even other counties but I know the pandemic did not have any effect on the integrity of our elections,” Hancock explained.
Although it was a historic election, some individuals do feel there was too much wiggle room.
“I work with some older people who don’t like to go in and vote in person and so mailing in is a good way to get their voice heard, but I think there should be specific things set in place to prove that, okay, this is a legitimate mail-in ballot,” said Paige Keller, a Brazos County Resident.
Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 3 will implement limiting early voting hours, getting rid of proactively sending mail by ballot applications, and eliminating drive-thru voting.
According to the Texas tribune this weekend 295 Texans testified in front of lawmakers on the bill.