Yet another scandal is unfolding this weekend regarding Texas attorney general and gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott, who has been at the forefront of efforts to suppress voting in Texas during his twelve years in office. Just how far has he been willing to go? A thoroughly researched article in yesterday's
Dallas Morning News has exposed a previously unreported effort to shut down a group that was registering low-income voters in Houston.
On an overcast Monday afternoon, officers in bulletproof vests swept into a house on Houston’s north side. The armed deputies and agents served a search warrant. They carted away computers, hard drives and documents.
The raid targeted a voter registration group called Houston Votes, which was accused of election fraud. It was initiated by investigators for Attorney General Greg Abbott. His aides say he is duty-bound to preserve the integrity of the ballot box.
His critics, however, say that what Abbott has really sought to preserve is the power of the Republican Party in Texas. They accuse him of political partisanship, targeting key Democratic voting blocs, especially minorities and the poor, in ways that make it harder for them to vote, or for their votes to count.
A close examination of the Houston Votes case reveals the consequences when an elected official pursues hotly contested allegations of election fraud.
The investigation was closed one year after the raid, with no charges filed. But for Houston Votes, the damage was done. Its funding dried up, and its efforts to register more low-income voters ended. Its records and office equipment never were returned. Instead, under a 2013 court order obtained by Abbott’s office, they were destroyed.
The article is quite lengthy, but anyone who cares about voting rights should read it in its entirety.
This is the kind of man that Wendy Davis is up against.
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