TYLER (AP) — Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed an elections overhaul into law Tuesday that adds more voting restrictions in the booming state, after Democrats spent months protesting what they say are efforts to weaken minority turnout and preserve the GOP's eroding dominance.
Abbott signed the sweeping changes during a ceremony in the East Texas city of Tyler, where the surrounding county went for former President Donald Trump by a more than 2-to-1 margin last year. But it was far closer in Texas overall, with Trump carrying the state by 5 1/2 points, the thinnest margin of victory by a GOP presidential nominee here in decades.
The bill signing again underlined the hard right turn Texas Republicans made this year, including a new state law that took effect last week banning most abortions. Abbott said he chose Tyler because it was home to the voting bill's main author, Republican Sen. Bryan Hughes, who also authored the new abortion restrictions.
