Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday called for an investigation into reports of voting problems encountered during the midterm elections last week in Harris County, The Dallas Morning News reports.
"I'm calling on the Secretary of State, the Attorney General's Office, and the Texas Rangers to initiate investigations into allegations of improprieties in the way that the 2022 elections were conducted in Harris County," Abbott said in a statement. "The allegations of election improprieties in our state's largest county may result from anything ranging from malfeasance to blatant criminal conduct. Voters in Harris County deserve to know what happened. Integrity in the election process is essential. To achieve that standard, a thorough investigation is warranted."
Secretary of State John Scott told the Morning News in a statement that his office referred Abbott’s complaint to the Texas attorney general’s office as well as the Harris County district attorney’s office.
“We will be collecting even more information to ultimately provide the public with greater clarity on the root causes of the issues witnessed in Harris County on Election Day,” Scott said in the statement.
Harris County Democratic Party Chair Odus Evbagharu criticized the move as “yet another example of the political theater we’ve come to expect from our state leader,” in a statement.
He added, “We all know Abbott’s concern is not really the 2022 Midterm Election in Harris County. He’s got his focus on what’s next for him, and he’s hoping simply calling for an investigation will play out in his favor politically.”
Evbagharu also said, “It should be noted that in July, the Texas secretary of state’s office announced Harris County had been ‘randomly selected’ for an audit of the November election results. This latest call by Gov. Abbott seems redundant.”
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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