What do you call it when a state's top election official falsely flags tens of thousands of names as illegal voters? I call it voter suppression. In Texas, they call it Thursday.
Texas Secretary of State David Whitley is under fire for claiming voter fraud in the case of 95,000 of the state's registered voters, saying at least 58,000 of them been voting illegally since 1996. Republicans at all levels, including, of course, the Town-Crier-In-Chief, rang the loudest of alarm bells. According to Talking Points Memo:
The voter list was released in January and suggested that of the 95,000 possible noncitizens on the Texas voter rolls, as many as 58,000 may have illegally cast ballots since 1996. President Donald Trump seized on the reports out of Texas to renew unsubstantiated claims of rampant voter fraud, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose office prosecutes election fraud cases, sent a campaign fundraising email to supporters with the headline, “VOTER FRAUD ALERT.”
Apparently, it turns out, that is a massive overcount. Tens of thousands of those registered voters had already become naturalized before they voted. Despite there being questions raised about the accuracy of Whitley's report on multiple occasions, he insisted his numbers were correct, and there was no way he was wrong.
Oopsie.
Did he apologize? Define apologize.
He didn't accept responsibility for his mistakes lies. A true apology has no qualifiers; no "but"s or excuses. The sentence he wrote had the word "apologize" in it, but it wasn't an apology in the sense that a reasonable person would detect contrition, or feel that his future behavior will change.
In a letter to lawmakers sent late Wednesday, Whitley said his office “could have been communicated better” and that “more time should have been devoted” to vetting the names.
“I recognize this caused some confusion about our intentions, which were at all times aimed at maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the voter rolls,” Whitley wrote. “To the extent my actions missed that mark, I apologize.”
Yeah, that sounds like a guy filled with remorse. Perhaps he will have more remorse if this ends up costing him confirmation, and therefore, his job. That's right, he has not been confirmed, yet, so Whitley's career is still very much up in the air.
Regardless, it sounds like every other racist in this administration and Republican party. Want to harm brown people? Can't think of a legit reason? WE WILL INVENT AN EMERGENCY! Gee, who does THAT sound like?
