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Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) recently announced that since the enactment of Senate Bill 1 during the third special legislative session of the 87th Legislature in 2021, Texas has removed over one million people from the state’s voter rolls.
“Election integrity is essential to our democracy,” Abbott stated. “I have signed the strongest election laws in the nation to protect the right to vote and to crack down 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. Illegal voting in Texas will never be tolerated. We will continue to actively safeguard Texans’ sacred right to vote while also aggressively protecting our elections from illegal voting.”
The Scale of the Voter Roll Purge
Governor Abbott’s announcement highlighted that more than 1.1 million voters were removed from the rolls, categorized into several groups:
- Deceased Individuals: Over 457,000 names were removed due to death.
- Suspense List: More than 463,000 voters were flagged for being on the suspense list, meaning their voter registration status was uncertain due to issues such as undelivered mail or failed address confirmation.
- Unresponsive Voters: Over 134,000 voters failed to respond to an address confirmation notice.
- Noncitizens: Approximately 6,500 individuals were removed due to non-citizenship.
- Felony Convictions: Over 6,000 voters were disqualified due to felony convictions.
This large-scale cleanup of the voter rolls is a continuation of efforts that began under Senate Bill (SB) 1, authored by State Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) and signed into law by Abbott in 2021. This legislation emerged from a series of contentious special legislative sessions, during which several Democrat state lawmakers attempted a quorum break.
SB 1 introduced several provisions aimed at preventing voter fraud, including stricter regulations on mail-in ballots and voter registration. These measures have played a significant role in the ongoing effort to maintain the integrity of voter rolls in Texas.
Legislative Background
The legal framework supporting this voter roll purge is robust, reflecting Texas’s strong commitment to election integrity. SB 1, often described as one of the most stringent election laws in the United States, has been a cornerstone of these efforts. The legislation includes provisions to criminalize the sending of unsolicited mail-in ballot applications, requires ID verification for those voting by mail, and limits early voting hours, among other measures.
However, SB 1 is just one part of a broader legislative effort. Texas lawmakers have passed several other pieces of legislation that further crack down on illegal voting:
- House Bill 1243: Authored by State Rep. Cole Hefner (R-Mount Pleasant), this bill increases the penalty for illegal voting to a second-degree felony, reflecting the state’s zero-tolerance policy toward voter fraud.
- Senate Bill 1113: Authored by State Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), this bill empowers the Texas Secretary of State to withhold funds from counties that fail to remove noncitizens from voter rolls, ensuring compliance with voter roll maintenance.
- House Bill 574: Authored by State Rep. Greg Bonnen (R-Friendswood), this bill criminalizes the act of knowingly counting invalid votes, targeting those who might attempt to manipulate election outcomes.
The Optics
Governor Abbott’s announcement comes just ahead of a scheduled public hearing of the House Committee on Elections. Among other topics, the committee intends to discuss the recently published election audits from the office of Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson (R), which cover the 2021-2022 election cycle for Harris, Cameron, Guadalupe, and Eastland Counties.
The announcement also arrives as the nation gears up for a contentious presidential election cycle and the November General Election.
Conclusion
Governor Abbott’s announcement reinforces Texas’s ongoing effort to uphold election integrity. With over one million ineligible voters removed from the rolls, the state has reaffirmed its commitment to secure and fair elections. However, as Texas moves forward, it will need to continue navigating the delicate balance between preventing fraud and ensuring that every eligible voter has the opportunity to participate in the democratic process.
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