(CNN) Business groups and voting rights organizations are attempting to apply public pressure on Texas Republicans as lawmakers gear up to finalize bills that would make it harder to vote in parts of the Lone Star State and criminalize some of the actions of election workers. The letter came from a coalition known as Fair Elections Texas. A separate group of Houston-area business leaders, meanwhile, sent a letter to Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan and members of Texas' Legislature, warning that the restrictions "will inevitably damage our competitiveness in attracting businesses and workers to Houston" if they become law. The last-minute lobbying is another test of the increasingly strained relationship between corporate America and the Republican lawmakers who have sided with former President Donald Trump and his efforts to spread falsehoods about election fraud. Republican officials in Washington have threatened retribution for companies that take a public stand on the voting restrictions that have sped through state legislatures in places such as Georgia, Florida and now Texas.

Source: CNN May 04, 2021 21:56 UTC