AUSTIN (Texas) — Texas’ top election official resigned Monday. After a year of trying to reassure election skepticals, navigating the difficult launch of new voter laws which resulted in thousands discarded mail ballots, and overseeing a limited audit for the 2020 election, the Texas election chief resigned Monday.
Republican Governor John Scott appointed Secretary of State John Scott. Greg Abbott was immediately scrutinized from the day he accepted the position in October 2021. While he was briefly a member of President Donald Trump’s legal team, he stated upon accepting the Texas job that he didn’t dispute that President Joe Biden was winner.
Scott was immediately given the task of trying to provide Texas voters with confidence in election results and their ability to vote. This was after Republicans had passed a new voting law that was comprehensive just weeks prior to his appointment. However, those efforts were hampered by voters’ inability to understand new mail voting requirements. This led to nearly 23,000 ballots being thrown out by counties.
The November elections saw a return to normal rates of rejected ballots. Scott’s office stated that there were no major problems surrounding the election.
Scott stated in his resignation letter that he had learned a lot from Texas voters by listening to their concerns and those of voters.
Scott stated that he would return to private practice. Abbott, who was reelected in November for a third term, will choose his successor.
Scott stated to The Associated Press in September that he had received threats and heard from many Texans about integrity of the election. He also said that he was in touch with local officials who were receiving similar messages.
Scott’s role in border security also included this year, as Scott’s office assisted the governor in negotiations with neighboring Mexican States as part of Abbott’s efforts to reduce immigration. This was after Abbott issued an order earlier in the year to inspect all commercial vehicles crossing the border. This caused delays and shut down some of the busiest trade bridges in the world.
