AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Democrats are outraged to hear that Gov. Greg Abbott has appointed a new Texas secretary of state — responsible for overseeing elections — who is an attorney who represented disgraced ex-president Donald Trump in his challenge of the 2020 election results.
After nearly a year of pushing forward anti-voter laws designed to shut down the votes and voices of Black and Brown voters and working Texans, and leading a discriminatory redistricting process that further erodes the voting power of Texans of color, Texas Republicans are taking another step to undermine our democracy. The choice of a secretary of state who has actively promoted Trump’s conspiracy theories about the 2020 election — and participated in his legal action attempting to overturn the results of the most secure election in U.S. history — once again reminds us that Abbott is willing to trade in our democracy for a few rightwing primary votes.
Texas Democratic Party Voter Protection Director Rose Clouston issued the following statement:
“In appointing Scott, Abbott has turned to the lawyer who fought to protect a discriminatory voter ID law, who lost that battle in court, and now has cost the state $6.8 million in attorney fees. Texans deserve a chief election official who has dedicated their career to the protection of the right to vote and not one who participated in Trump’s lawsuits undercutting our democracy.”
