Suppression of Mail-In Voting Looms Over Texas Primary

Early voting for a March 1 primary election opened yesterday in Texas, where civil rights groups are warning the Republican Secretary of State John B. Scott of a “crisis of confidence” among voters as election officials scramble to implement the state’s punitive new election law.

According to a letter to Scott signed by 30 civil rights groups this week, he squandered precious time “chasing down” former President Donald Trump’s conspiracy theories about the 2020 election results when state officials should have prioritized helping voters and election officials navigate Senate Bill 1, the new restrictions on voting and mail-in ballots that Republicans rammed through the state legislature last year.

“Altogether, the issues stemming from the passage of anti-voter Senate Bill 1 create multiple deliberate barriers to voting with far-reaching consequences,” said Charlie Bonner, communications director for MOVE Texas Action Fund, in a statement. “These failures have led to mass confusion surrounding our voting processes that continue to undermine trust in our elections.”

Scott briefly signed onto one Trump’s ill-fatedThe lawsuits were filed to stop the 2020 presidential vote from Pennsylvania being overturned by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott appointed him Texas secretary of state in 2017. For Republicans, Scott is a champion of “election integrity,” a buzzword describing the idea that restrictions on voting are needed to prevent fraud. Despite Trump’s claims, there is no evidence of widespread fraud in 2020 or any other recent election, and critics say Texas Republicans are continuing a longstanding traditiondiluting the voting rights of workers, people of color, and people with disabilities.

Late last Friday, the uncertainty and confusion over the Texas primaries was heightened when a federal judge from San Antonio issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of a portion of the voter restriction law that made it crime for public officials to encourage or “solicit” applications to vote by mail. Plaintiff election officials saidThe restrictions violated their First Amendment rights. They made it difficult to help disabled and elderly people apply for mail ballots without committing a criminal offense.

Scott’s office did not respond to Truthout’s request for comment, but a spokesman told Politico that some county officials have “almost been overly restrictive on themselves.” But the incentive to be “restrictive” is clear: “Unlawfully soliciting” mail-in ballots is now a felony punishable by 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $10,000, accordingTo the Texas Tribune.

Across the state, officials have complained about rejecting large numbers of mail-in ballot applications due to confusion over the law’s cumbersome new ID requirements. Senate Bill 1 also increased the criminal penalties and paperwork required for those who assist voters, creating obstacles for elderly and disabled voters as well as their caretakers.

Officials have rushed to update forms to alert voters to new rules and penalties ahead of the midterms, and Scott’s office was initially forced to ration voter registrationForms after running out of paper because of problems in the supply chain

“This was a seismic blunder that threatened many thousands of eligible voters, and which you worked to fix only after a massive public outcry,” the groups wrote in the letter.

Scott’s office has responded to lawsuits and public outcry by issuing guidanceAdvocates say Scott has not done enough to inform voters about the new rules and procedures for mail in voting. For example, Scott’s office rolled out a new website for tracking mail-in ballots, but most voters don’t know about it, according to the letter.

“Unlike Secretary Scott, we have been working directly with voters to provide the support and guidance that they deserve in the wake of the confusion of Senate Bill 1,” said Stephanie Gómez, associate director for Common Cause Texas, in a statement.

According to the groups, public confidence in Texas elections had already declined before Scott was appointed last year. In 2019And again in 2022Non-citizens have been removed from voter rolls in an attempt to remove naturalized citizens. This has led to intimidation of immigrant voters.

In 2020, Scott’s predecessor forced election officials in Harris County, which includes most of Houston, to abandon a plan to send mail-in ballot applications to every registered voter due the pandemic, according to civil rights groups. Abbott worked with Republican election officials to limit the number of drop boxes for mail-in ballots available to voters in the days leading up to the 2020 election.

Texas Republicans passed Senate Bill 1 which was approved by the Justice Department. challengedin court to defend elderly voters and disabled voters. Republicans passed the new penalties for encouraging or “unlawful soliciting” of mail-in votes after a series of legal fights with Democratic election officials in Harris Country and other populous areas over the issue. In Republican-led Texas, where Trump was able to take advantage of high voter turnout in 2020, mail-in ballots have been controversial. narrower marginThe former president was more surprised at his victory over Joe Biden than he might have expected in a traditionally red state.

In September, Trump demanded that Abbott pass legislation authorizing a “forensic audit” of ballots in Texas long after state officials declared the 2020 election “smooth and secure.” Within hours of Trump’s request, Scott’s predecessor ordered an audit of the results in the state’s four largest and most diverse counties, including Harris County. Scott was appointed by Abbott to be the secretary of state shortly thereafter.

Initial resultsThe review that was released last month found few discordances, which confirmed what many observers in Texas knew: There was no widespread voter corruption in 2020. Voting rights advocates chalk it up as a thinly disguised and hyper-partisan attempt by Republicans to support conspiracy theories about a stolen election, which fueled a wave in voter suppression efforts in Texas.

The civil rights groups say Scott has been vocal about making the election audit his “first and foremost” priority while his office should have been preparing for a primary election with new voting restrictions in place. They believe Scott should use the time before March 1st to increase efforts to educate voters about changes, provide clearer guidance to local officials, protect voters. intimidation by partisan poll watchersSenate Bill 1 gives them the power to intervene at polling places.

“The longer these issues go unaddressed, the more voters [are] impacted, and the more extreme the impacts on our democracy become,” Bonner said.