The Texas Secretary of State's Office has removed more than 1.1 million individuals from the state's voter rolls since 2021, according to Governor Greg Abbott.
This ongoing process, stemming from new election integrity laws, aims to remove ineligible voters, including non-citizens, deceased individuals, and those who have moved out of state. The Center Square reports that the removal process is part of Texas' efforts to strengthen election integrity and protect the right to vote.
Governor Abbott emphasized the importance of election integrity, stating that he has signed the strongest election laws in the nation. These laws not only protect the right to vote but also crack down on illegal voting. The ongoing review of voter rolls is a legal requirement for the Secretary of State and county voter registrars, who must remove ineligible voters and refer potential cases of illegal voting to the Attorney General's Office and local authorities for investigation and prosecution.
The largest group removed from the voter rolls consists of over 463,000 individuals on the suspense list. This is followed by more than 457,000 deceased voters and 134,000 voters who confirmed they had moved to a different address. Additionally, 65,000 were removed for failing to respond to a notice of examination, while 19,000 requested cancellation of their voter registration.
Of particular note, approximately 6,500 potential noncitizens were removed from the voter rolls. Among these, about 1,930 have a voting history. The Secretary of State's office is currently in the process of forwarding all 1,930 records to the Attorney General's Office for further investigation and potential legal action.
The removal process also included 6,000 individuals with felony convictions as part of the state's efforts to maintain accurate and up-to-date voter rolls.
Governor Abbott has signed several bills into law to reinforce election integrity in Texas. In 2023, House Bill 1243 was enacted, increasing the penalty for illegal voting, including voting by noncitizens, to a second-degree felony.
Abbott said:
Election integrity is essential to our democracy. I have signed the strongest election laws in the nation to protect the right to vote and to crackdown on illegal voting. These reforms have led to the removal of over one million ineligible people from our voter rolls in the last three years, including noncitizens, deceased voters, and people who moved to another state.
The governor further emphasized that illegal voting in Texas will never be tolerated, and the state will continue to actively safeguard Texans' right to vote while aggressively protecting elections from illegal voting.
In 2021, Abbott signed several significant bills into law, including Senate Bill 1, Senate Bill 1113, and House Bill 574. These laws implemented various changes to strengthen election integrity. Senate Bill 1, for instance, increased penalties for lying on voter registration forms, criminalized ballot harvesting and banned local jurisdictions from distributing unsolicited mail-in ballot applications and ballots.
The law also mandated the use of identification for mail-in ballots and required the Secretary of State to conduct randomized audits of elections every two years. Senate Bill 1113 directed the Secretary of State to withhold funds from counties whose administrators fail to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls. House Bill 574 increased the penalty for knowingly counting invalid votes or refusing to count valid votes to a second-degree felony.
Going back to 2017, Abbott signed Senate Bill 5 into law, which increased the penalty for election workers who knowingly permit noncitizens and other ineligible persons to vote. These legislative actions demonstrate Texas' ongoing commitment to maintaining the integrity of its elections and ensuring that only eligible voters participate in the democratic process.
Texas has made significant strides in cleaning up its voter rolls, removing over 1.1 million ineligible voters since 2021. This effort, supported by recent legislation, aims to enhance election integrity and prevent illegal voting. The ongoing process involves removing deceased voters, noncitizens, and those who have moved out of state. Governor Abbott remains committed to safeguarding the voting rights of eligible Texans while aggressively combating illegal voting practices.
