Austin, Texas – After hours of testimony from constituents, a Texas House committee and Senate panel voted to advance the Republican-priority restrictive voting measures in the early hours of Sunday.

Just days into Texas' special session, Republican state lawmakers are proceeding full steam ahead with proposed legislation aimed at promoting what they call "election integrity."

The bill aims to ban drive-thru voting, limit early voting hours, and increase the powers of partisan poll watchers, among other provisions.

While GOP lawmakers say the measures are meant to prevent fraud, opponents say they disproportionately disenfranchise voters of color, who also tend to vote Democratic.

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A House committee voted to approve the legislation early on Sunday morning. A Senate panel did the same with its version of the bill after hearing hours of testimonies from everyday Texans, the vast majority of whom were against the proposed measures, the Texas Tribune reported.

The approvals by the Republican-majority committees set the stage for the bills to receive votes in the full chambers as early as Tuesday.

It seems GOP lawmakers are trying to get the election bill in early after Democrats staged a walkout in May, effectively killing a similar bill at the end of the regular session.

Heading into the special session, Democrats have remained united in their opposition to the measures but divided in determining the best strategy to fight back, according to the New York Times.

Some reportedly want to kill the bill by leaving the state, while others want to stay and fight on procedural grounds. Those who want to leave argue that it could draw greater national attention to the issue of voting rights. Conversely, it may be a PR disaster if Democrats are seen to be abdicating their duties.

Those in favor of staying say the party should seek to draw out the voting process by adding more amendments to the bills, though getting those amendments added in Republican-controlled committees is another challenge altogether.

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On Friday, Democrats made it clear they would remain at the Capitol – at least at the start of the session. They have repeatedly signaled that they are keeping all options open, so the decision does not rule out a later walkout.

It remains to be seen whether Texas Democrats can pull off another stunt to kill the bill, or whether state Republicans will finally succeed in passing their restrictive measures.