.png){kind=small}
More than two dozen progressive groups have united against Texas Republicans' renewed efforts to pass a restrictive voting bill, forming a new coalition days before a special session of the state Legislature is scheduled to begin.
Texas for All, as the coalition is known, launched Monday with 35 national and Texas-based groups on board that traditionally focus on issues including civil liberties, immigration, child welfare, the environment and abortion rights. Organizers told NBC News that more groups may join.
Five groups at the core of the coalition have worked together in the past: Texas Freedom Network, Workers Defense Action Fund, Texas Organizing Project, Texas Civil Rights Project and Planned Parenthood Texas Votes. The Texas Democratic Party, Texas AFL-CIO, Sierra Club, American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, and Black Voters Matter Fund are also taking part.
The hope is to mobilize a combined membership base of millions for the special session of the Texas Legislature that begins on July 8, where GOP-backed voting legislation is expected to come up.The coalition anticipates spending seven figures on digital ads and other lobbying efforts against proposed election limits throughout the session, according to a person familiar with the coalition's plans who wasn't authorized to speak publicly about the effort.