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A bill to raise the penalty for illegal voting from a misdemeanor to a felony is on its way back to the Texas House. On Wednesday, the Senate passed House Bill 1243 on a 19-11 vote. The Senate version adds a provision that says a person can be prosecuted even if they cast an ineligible ballot by mistake, as opposed to deliberately. The bill must now go back to the House for its approval of the amendment. Republican lawmakers have pushed for the bill ever since the legislature reduced illegal voting to a misdemeanor in the 2021 session.