Staff Reports
Gov. Greg Abbott is taking the bull by the horns when it comes to election integrity in Texas, and the results are nothing short of impressive. Signed into law in 2021, Abbott’s election integrity bill, Senate Bill 1, has successfully scrubbed the state’s voter rolls, removing over 1.1 million folks who don’t exactly meet the criteria of being eligible voters. That’s a mighty impressive clean-up job, and it’s all part of the Republican Party’s major push to ensure fair elections heading into the 2024 presidential showdown.
The governor didn’t just toss out any old number. The heavy lifting involved disqualifying a staggering 457,000 deceased individuals—yes, the ones who can’t exactly fill out a ballot anymore—and over 463,000 people who found themselves in Texas’s suspense list. With that kind of house-cleaning, it’s almost hard to believe that anyone who shouldn’t vote could still be lurking around. Abbott laid it all out, emphasizing that the Secretary of State and county registrars have a legal duty to keep the rolls in check and that illegal voting isn’t just a party trick in Texas; it’ll get you a one-way ticket to legal scrutiny.
Abbott’s announcement came on the heels of similar robust actions by other Republican governors. For instance, Virginia’s Gov. Glenn Youngkin is putting in place measures to bolster ballot security, ensure thorough testing of counting machines, and, of course, maintain clean voter lists. Youngkin’s state has also kicked out thousands of noncitizens from the voter rolls, with over 6,300 removed between January 2022 and July 2024. Clearly, this isn’t just a Texas issue; it’s spreading like wildfire among conservative leaders, showing that election integrity is a priority.
In a bigger picture move, America First Legal’s Gene Hamilton highlighted an important legislative nugget from the Immigration and Nationality Act that enables states to receive information from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This allows local governments to verify the citizenship status of individuals. It’s almost like a ‘get out of jail free’ card for states looking to maintain a legally sound electoral process. With tools at their disposal, states are armed and ready to keep illegal immigrants from worming their way onto the voter rolls.
The Supreme Court added some fuel to the fire recently by reinstating an Arizona law that requires documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration. This crucial ruling not only signifies a win for Republicans but also sets a precedent that other states might be tempted to follow. High-profile figures, including Lara Trump from the Republican National Committee, have cheered on this decision as a significant victory, framing it as a vital step towards ensuring that the upcoming 2024 election remains both legal and fair. One thing is clear—between Abbott’s clean-up efforts and the legal maneuvers sweeping the nation, the fight for election integrity is heating up faster than a Texas summer.
