The Texas Senate passed a new bill on Thursday aimed at tightening election laws in red-leaning states. The bill, known as Senate Bill 990, would prohibit countywide voting on Election Day, requiring individuals to vote at their assigned precincts instead of countywide voting centers. The new law would still allow county polling sites to remain open during the early voting period. The bill was passed on a party-line vote and now moves to the House, where an identical bill was referred to the Elections Committee.

Republican State Senator Bob Hall, who introduced the bill, argued that it would increase election security and prevent voter fraud by restricting people from voting at multiple locations. However, opponents of the bill, mostly Democrats, countered that claims of voter fraud have been debunked by the Secretary of State, and that the bill would make it more difficult for voters in large, sprawling counties to find a place to vote.

State Senator Carol Alvarado said that Hall’s position was based on a “very weak case,” and that there was no evidence of people voting at multiple locations. Senator Sarah Eckhardt, also a Democrat, argued that countywide polling centers are more accessible for people with disabilities and voters who commute long distances for work.

Hall, in response, argued that the bill was about security, not convenience, and that the bill would increase accessibility by requiring people to vote in their own neighborhood.

The tension in the Senate arose when State Senator Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat, asked Hall to name the counties where people had cast multiple ballots. Gutierrez said that there were no issues with countywide polling sites open on Election Day.

The bill is part of a pattern of legislation aimed at tightening election laws in Republican-led states. The claims of election fraud have become increasingly common among conservative lawmakers since former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. There has been no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Texas or around the nation.