Updated on Nov. 1 at 12:10 p.m. to include a response from Rep. Greg Bonnen’s office.

WASHINGTON — Democrats are suing Texas in federal court, alleging a new state law banning temporary voting locations unconstitutionally depresses voter turnout among young people.

The Texas Democratic Party and the party’s Senate and U.S. House campaign arms — the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — filed the lawsuit on Wednesday in federal court in Austin, asking a judge to block the law.

“Many of the locations where early voting will no longer be available are on or near college campuses, and the impact of this reduction in early voting locations will almost certainly fall disproportionately on young voters, who already suffer from limited automobile access compared to the general population,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit challenges House Bill 1888, which was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in June.

The law bars temporary or “mobile” polling sites that counties have used during early voting, typically for a day or two at a time.

Backers of mobile voting call it a cost-effective way to reach as many voters as possible.

“Mobile voting is an essential pillar of making voting more accessible,” said Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa, calling the rollback “their latest attempt to curb the Democratic rise in the state and steal an election from the rising Texas electorate.”

During the 2019 legislative session, supporters of H.B. 1888 argued that temporary polling sites benefit some populations but exclude others that don’t get assigned a temporary polling site.

State Rep. Greg Bonnen, R-Friendswood and author of the bill, said the temporary voting locations allowed for a “selective harvesting of targeted voters.”

His bill required any polling place to remain open for the entirety of the early voting period, which he said would minimize selective targeting.

Bonnen’s office declined to comment for this story, citing the pending lawsuit.

Democrats argue that Texas counties can’t afford to keep such sites open throughout the early voting period, and that temporary sites make it easier for many voters to cast ballots.

DCCC chairwoman Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., called it a “blatantly partisan attempt to shrink the electorate.”

The lawsuit points to an uptick in voter turnout among young people in the 2018 midterms, which propelled Democrat Beto O’Rourke to within 2.6% of Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in the 2018 Senate race.

Mobile voting locations on college campuses were a factor in the increase. Voter turnout among young people increased 234% between the 2014 and 2018 midterm elections, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s office.

The lawsuit centers around the “undue burden” on young peoples’ right to vote, but Democrats pointed out that the law could also depress turnout in areas across the state.

“We won’t stand by while Republicans work overtime to undermine Texas voters’ ability to access the ballot, particularly elderly Texans, people with disabilities, and college students,” Bustos said. “I look forward to the day when access to the ballot is treated like the universal American value that it absolutely must be.”

The chairwoman of the DSCC, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, said that “the gains Texas made in boosting turnout prove that when we remove obstacles to voting, more people cast their ballots.”

“We won’t stand by while others work to disenfranchise Texans who want to lawfully participate in our democracy,” she said.