Texas voting bill: Uber drivers must register as election workers or disabled voters can't share rides to polls
Election officials in Texas on Wednesday revealed that Uber drivers and other ride sharing services would have to register their drivers as election workers if transporting more than three voters per car.
At a hearing on Senate Bill 9, which activists say will suppress voting rights, election official Chris Davis warned that there are multiple problems with the bill.
Davis pointed out that the legislation would criminalize poll workers who make simple mistakes.
"Or whether it's the bad policies of now allowing poll watchers to now record ballot counting in areas where ballot voting still occurs, with all the privacy that that is supposed to entail," Davis said.
According to Davis, another "bad policy" would mandate that "non-driving voters must now attest to the reason for their assistance for curbside voting due to physical disability."
Texas state Rep. John H. Bucy III (D) wondered about a provision that would force carpool drivers to give their name and address to the state.
"I've got a 91-year-old grandmother, she's in a retirement home," Bucy explained. "If she and three of her friends -- so there's four of them -- get an Uber ride to go vote, would that Uber driver have to fill out this form because he brought them to curbside vote? They're all in wheelchairs."
"Yes," Davis replied. "An Uber driver would have to at least attest to the reason why they are assisting these voters."
Watch Davis' testimony to the Texas House Committee on Elections below.