The Big Lie Spreads in Texas
Last March, the office of the Texas Secretary of State reported to the Texas Legislature that the 2020 election was “a success” and was “smooth and secure.” Officials went as far as to call the election the most secure in history.
But hours after a call from former President Trump last week, the same office announced it was undertaking an investigation of that election in four counties, including Harris County, without providing any justification.
This is just the latest development in a sustained campaign against democratic elections in our country. This isn’t an “audit” — it’s a bald-faced attack on election legitimacy, part of the greater “big lie” designed to undermine and overturn fair and free elections.
There is a massive campaign underway to attack our democracy. New attacks on democratic elections in Texas are part of a national effort taking place in states like Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. But this isn’t about the 2020 elections — this is about undermining the 2022 and 2024 elections and making them vulnerable to being overturned.
This campaign goes far beyond questioning election results. Senate Bill 1, passed earlier this month by Texas Republicans on a party-line vote, empowers partisan poll watchers to harass election workers, an intimidation tactic that has already been shown to disenfranchise voters and make our elections less secure. Some long-time poll workers are even quitting after receiving death threats.
These Republican-led efforts to undermine our elections also create new security threats by giving partisans access to voting machines. In Arizona, thousands of machines will have to be replaced after their failed effort to re-investigate the 2020 election. And now that same circus may be on its way to Texas.
There’s no question about what is happening here — Donald Trump, Greg Abbott, and their allies are trying to undermine our ability to decide who represents us. They were almost successful in 2020, and they’re setting the stage to steal elections in 2022 and beyond.
We’re thankful that our leaders in Harris County are standing up against this blatant attack on our democracy, and we join them in denouncing this dangerous effort to undermine the right of Texans to choose our leaders at the ballot box.
