Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has called on the state’s lawmakers to impose harsher penalties for illegal voting, building on earlier efforts that saw the Republican leader push for a forensic audit of the 2020 election. Abbott on Sept. 30 asked the Secretary of the Texas Senate to identify legislation for consideration during the current special session that would raise the penalties for illegal voting after an earlier bill, SB 1 (pdf), reduced the punishment from a felony to a misdemeanor. “The State of Texas has made tremendous progress in upholding the integrity of our elections,” Abbott said in a release. “By increasing penalties for illegal voting, we will send an even clearer message that voter fraud will not be tolerated in Texas.” Earlier in September, Abbott signed into law SB 1, an election reform bill whose supporters say shores up election integrity but whose detractors say establishes obstacles to voting. Besides …