Problems with voting? Call the Election Protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE.

(Washington, D.C.) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott appointed attorney John Scott to fill the role of the Texas Secretary of State on Thursday, placing him in charge of overseeing election administration and publishing government rules and regulations, among other duties. Scott worked previously with former President Donald Trump to challenge the results of the 2020 election in Pennsylvania.

The following is a statement from Damon Hewitt, president and executive director with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law:

“Texas Gov. Abbott has appointed an enabler of the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump, to oversee all electoral activity in Texas. That is the political equivalent of giving the keys to a driver who has a penchant for driving the wrong way down a one-way street. This move should ring alarm bells to Texans, who now have to be on guard for crafty new efforts to disenfranchise them.

“Texans deserve a fair and transparent process when it comes to the appointment of representatives who have the ability to shape our political landscape for decades to come. Our choices for political leaders are near-sacred and, when whittled away, destroy the hope of a free and fair democracy.

“Gov. Abbott’s choice for Texas Secretary of State is a signal that 2020 was a trial run for undermining the 2022 midterms and future elections. It is a signal that election subversion efforts of last year may now become institutionalized. And it is yet another reason why we need federal voting rights legislation to stop these moves in their tracks. There is no greater threat to our democracy.”

 

###

 

About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law – The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers’ Committee), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice for all, particularly in the areas of voting rights, criminal justice, fair housing and community development, economic justice, educational opportunities, and hate crimes.  For more information, please visit https://lawyerscommittee.org.