Classic case of IOWRDI:
Republican lawmakers seek to curb powers of blue cities through legislation crackdown
For as long as he’s been in office, Gov. Greg Abbott has waged war with Texas cities, warning that the state is being “California-ized” by local overregulation.
But until now, the offensive has stuck to single measures, like barring cities from regulating most oil and gas drilling or forcing landlords to accept federal housing vouchers. Republican lawmakers have pushed off more sweeping proposals, including attempts to prohibit local governments from passing any ordinance more stringent than state law.
Those sorts of measures are on the table this year in what could be the most productive legislative session yet for conservatives looking to rein in the state’s largest cities and counties, most of which are run by Democrats. Among the ideas are enhancing state oversight of county-run elections, taking aim at progressive judges and prosecutors, slashing local officials’ emergency powers and broadly restricting the types of regulations cities and counties can enact.
…Helping lead the GOP legislative response is state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican who previously oversaw the voter rolls as Harris County tax assessor-collector. One of his bills, Senate Bill 220, would create teams of election marshals to investigate potential voting violations and enlist visiting judges to quickly review the cases.
Bettencourt also is carrying a bill in the Senate that would allow the secretary of state to suspend an appointed county elections administrator and appoint a replacement, if there’s “good cause to believe that a recurring pattern of problems with election administration exists.” The bill outlines five causes for suspension, all targeted at Harris County [Houston].
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My bold.
“Good cause…” Yeah, right. 
But that’s not all.
A new bill under consideration in the state Legislature would remove all polling places from Texas colleges and universities, prompting outcry from voting rights advocates who say the proposal would make it even harder for young people to cast a ballot.
House Bill 2390 would expressly prohibit county commissioners from designating college campuses as voting sites. State Rep. Carrie Isaac, a Dripping Springs Republican, said she authored the bill as part of a school safety initiative to keep potentially dangerous people off school grounds — an assertion that critics called offensive and dishonest Tuesday.
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My bold.
“Potentially dangerous people,” meaning voters?
Continuing from the article:
Other Democrats and voting rights activists have characterized HB 2390 — narrowly tailored to college campuses — as an attack on young Texans, many of whom already don’t have easy access to the ballot box. On-site polling places are almost always the fastest way for college students to cast a ballot, especially when they don’t have cars to drive nearby.
“Texas has the fastest growing population in the nation, largely led by young voters of color, and some politicians clearly see this as a threat,” said Katya Ehresman, the voting rights program manager at Common Cause Texas. …
…Young people — those between 18 and 29 — are far more liberal than previous generations, but few of them show up to vote. After record turnout in 2018 and 2020, about 75 percent of all registered young Texans stayed home during last year’s midterm election.
It is more difficult to vote in Texas than it is in almost every other state, but the barriers are especially high for young people.
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