Texas top election official resigns - The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN – Texas Secretary of State John Scott, who is the state’s apical predetermination official, volition resign astatine the extremity of the year.

On Monday, Scott sent a missive of resignation to Gov. Greg Abbott saying his past time volition beryllium Dec. 31, according to a transcript obtained by The Dallas Morning News.

In the letter, Scott said helium believes helium has restored religion successful Texas elections and that his overseeing the instauration of a forensic predetermination audit squad allows him to permission the bureau with a consciousness of pride.

“With a palmy 2022 General Election successful the rear presumption mirror, and the last findings of the 2020 forensic audit soon to beryllium released, I constitute to pass you that I mean to instrumentality to backstage signifier astatine the opening of the New Year,” Scott wrote.

Scott, an lawyer who worked nether Abbott portion helium was lawyer general, was a arguable appointee by Abbott due to the fact that of his transportation to an effort to overturn 2020 statesmanlike predetermination results successful Pennsylvania.

In Texas, the caput of authorities is appointed by the politician and confirmed by the Texas Senate. Abbott appointed Scott aft the 2021 legislative session, truthful helium ne'er underwent the confirmation process.

The bureau oversees elections arsenic good arsenic required paperwork filings for Texas businesses. Scott besides acted arsenic a diplomat of sorts for the authorities arsenic its “chief planetary protocol officer.” During his one-year tenure – Abbott appointed Scott connected Oct. 21, 2022 – that included negotiating with the 4 Mexican states that borderline Texas successful a borderline spat that began erstwhile Abbott ordered each inbound tractor trailers to acquisition a cumbersome inspection process.

But Scott’s main task was implementing a arguable predetermination instrumentality the Legislature passed successful 2021 successful effect to mendacious claims of wide elector fraud stoked by erstwhile President Donald Trump.

It was not a cleanable process. During outpouring enactment primaries, Texas saw the mail-in ballots rejected astatine astronomical rates amid disorder implicit caller ID requirements. That was made worse by wide fearfulness astatine section elections offices that adjacent providing a modicum of guidance connected mail-in ballots would effect successful officials being jailed.

Rejection numbers improved greatly for November’s election, but inactive stay acold higher than they were anterior the implementation of the predetermination overhaul measure Senate Bill 1.

Scott recovered himself trying to thread the needle betwixt defending the elections his bureau oversaw portion keeping successful bully graces with acold close Texas Republicans who beforehand mendacious predetermination integrity narratives that undermine democracy.

Scott saw angered activists during regular elector instrumentality investigating astatine a September lawsuit successful Hays County, successful which helium was shouted down by conspiracy theorists. He besides fended disconnected unit from Waco Republican Congressman Pete Sessions to investigate Dallas County’s predetermination office.

“Nuts,” was what Scott called immoderate predetermination deniers successful an October interrogation with Texas Monthly successful which helium said that Joe Biden “absolutely” won the election. But helium besides demurred erstwhile asked astir reporting that helium praised the movie 2000 Mules, a debunked documentary that galore apical officials, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, person hosted screenings.

Scott’s departure comes arsenic Texas has not seen a caput of authorities confirmed by the Legislature successful 5 years. The bureau has faced greater scrutiny from lawmakers aft an effort led by erstwhile caput of authorities David Whitley successful 2019 to purge noncitizens from the elector rolls, a determination opponents said would efficaciously disenfranchised much than 100,000 voters that revealed flawed information targeting naturalized citizens and landed Texas successful national court.

Lawmakers refused to corroborate Whitley, arsenic well. His successor Ruth R. Hughs stayed retired of the governmental limelight, but resigned astatine the extremity of 2021′s legislative league aft lawmakers ne'er confirmed her.

Abbott’s bureau did not instantly respond to an email seeking comment. It is unclear erstwhile helium volition name a replacement.

Abbott appointed Scott six months aft Hughs left. Scott faced contiguous pushback from Democrats for his relation with Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 statesmanlike election. Scott and authorities Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, concisely represented the Trump run successful its ineligible conflict to halt Pennsylvania from certifying its predetermination results.

He besides assumed the power of a forensic audit of the 2020 predetermination investigating results successful Collin, Dallas, Harris and Tarrant counties, a probe initiated aft Trump called connected Abbott to analyse results successful Texas, contempt winning the authorities by astir 5 percent points. An archetypal study softly released connected New Years Eve 2021 recovered thing fishy.

A 2nd signifier completing the probe is expected earlier the extremity of the year. As that probe continued, Scott created a forensic audit part wrong his bureau headed by the erstwhile caput of predetermination instrumentality astatine the blimpish lobby radical and deliberation vessel the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

Throughout his clip arsenic caput of state, Scott continued to enactment intimately with section predetermination officials, and the continued politicization of those offices and the threats they faced starring up to the 2022 midterms, led Scott to travel to support them.

In his resignation letter, Scott said helium “gained a heavy appreciation for the difficult, meticulous, and often thankless enactment of section predetermination officials successful safeguarding the integrity of the ballot box.”