Good morning –

As Texans enter the second week of early voting, the sad reality is that elections in the Lone Star State are vulnerable to fraud. Protecting the outcomes is incumbent on everyone.

Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Monday, October 19, 2020
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• Our friends at Direct Action Texas have created quick, easy-to-use guides for citizens seeking to protect their vote in this election.
   
• “Whether you serve on the front lines as an Election Judge/Clerk, in a supporting role as Poll Watcher, or simply spread the word and educate yourself and your friends, you must step up and do your part.” – Direct Action Texas

• Democrats around the state and nation have been trying to vastly expand vote by mail, knowing it is the least secure form of voting and most vulnerable to fraud. 
   
• For several years, Texas Scorecard’s Erin Anderson has extensively reported on voter fraud issues. There have now been dozens of voter fraud investigations, prosecutions, and convictions in Texas alone.
   
• Earlier this month, Carrollton mayoral candidate Zul Mohamed was charged with 109 felonies related to fraudulently obtained mail-in ballots of alleged nursing home residents.
   
• An Obama-appointed federal judge wrote in 2017 that the problem with in-person Voter ID was that it “did nothing to address mail-in balloting, which is much more vulnerable to fraud.”

• The current chairman of the Federal Elections Commission wrote recently that “the best way to make sure your vote counts in this election is to vote in person.”
   
• An appointee of President Donald Trump, Trey Trainor is an election law expert who has been involved in numerous post-election legal battles.
   
• “Real-life examples from congressional primaries in the past few months forecast the many failings of mail-in voting. Note that mail-in voting is different from legitimate absentee and military/overseas voting, although recent reports show that even those votes are subject to mistreatment and potential loss.” – Trey Trainor
   
• Trainor notes that more than a half-million mail-in votes have been “rejected during this year’s primary season alone.”
   
• He adds: “Once a mail-in ballot leaves the voter’s hands, the chance for fraud and criminal behavior increases.”

• Of course, election fraud takes other forms – including people voting who are not allowed to do so.
   
• “Every single instance of illegal voting threatens democracy in our state and deprives individual Texans of their voice.” – Attorney General Ken Paxton
    
• Attorney General Paxton has warned that Texas has a “significant problem” with non-citizens illegally voting in elections.
         
• Omar Escobar, a south Texas district attorney, testified before a Senate committee in 2018 that it is "beyond question" non-citizens are registering and voting in Starr County.

• The delegates to the Republican Party of Texas’ virtual convention this year made “election integrity” their top legislative priority for the 2021 legislative session. 
     
• “Require citizenship verification of each voter, and felony penalties for Election Code violations that threaten election integrity.” – Republican Party of Texas

• Securing the integrity of Texas’ elections was also at the forefront of some 300 grassroots activists when they crafted the Lone Star Agenda last year. 
   
• “Improve election integrity (paper ballot backup audit trail; citizenship verification).” - Lone Star Agenda
   
• Among their specific recommendations:
  
  ☑️ Pass increased penalties for those who violate the law regarding ballot by mail and vote harvesting.
  
  ☑️ Require voter citizenship to be verified before an individual is added to the rolls.
  
  ☑️ Remove the ability of the Secretary of State to offer waivers to counties and allow them to violate the law.
  
  ☑️ Enforce laws requiring paper ballot backups.
  
  ☑️ Pass legislation requiring paper ballot backup audit trail for electronic voting machines.

• The best way to work against attempted fraud is by overcoming evil with good; concerned citizens should work overtime in getting their right-thinking friends and family to the polls!

Your Federal & State Lawmakers