AUSTIN, Texas — Top election officials resigned Monday after an intense year of trying to reassure election skeptics, navigating the rocky launch of new voting laws that resulted in thousands of mail ballots and overseeing a limited audit of the 2020 election.
Secretary of State John Scott, who was appointed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott was under immediate scrutiny when he took over the job in October 2021. He was briefly part of the legal team that challenged the results of the 2020 election, but he said upon taking the job in Texas that he did not dispute that President Joe Biden was the winner.
Scott was tasked with giving Texas voters confidence about election results and the ability to cast a ballot after Republicans passed a sweeping new voting law just weeks before his appointment. During Texas first-in-the-nation primary, the efforts got off to a rough start as voters struggled to navigate new mail voting requirements, which resulted in counties throwing out nearly 23,000 mail ballots.
In the November elections, the rate of rejected ballots had returned to normal levels, and Scott s office said there were no major issues surrounding the election.
By listening directly to the concerns of local election officials, voters, and grassroots activists from across the political spectrum, I was able to understand how to better educate Texas voters about their most sacred civic duty, Scott said in his resignation letter.
Scott said he will return to private legal practice. Abbott will be chosen as his successor, who was reelected to a third term in November.
In September, Scott told The Associated Press that his office received threats, had heard from many Texans concerned about election integrity and was in contact with local election officials who received similar messages ahead of this year's midterm election.
Scott s role also touched on border security this year as he aided in the governor's negotiations with neighboring Mexican states as part of Abbott's efforts to curb immigration. This was after Abbott issued a directive to inspect all commercial vehicles crossing through multiple checkpoints across the border earlier this year, which resulted in extended delays and the shutdown of some of the world's busiest trade bridges.