Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton released an opinion allowing for public access to voting records in the weeks following an election, overturning a previous opinion over three decades old.
Replying to letters from Texas State Senator Kelly Hancock and Representative Matt Krause, Paxton allowed for increased transparency in future elections by opening the ballot box for citizen review.
Representative Krause explained in his letter, “In order to promote public confidence in Texas elections, members of the public as well as members of the legislature are interested in auditing the results of Texas elections.”
However, efforts to conduct timely audits of elections had been stymied by “election administrators … preventing the release of materials necessary to conduct such an audit,” Krause added.
Such officials suggested that the ballots were confidential and therefore not releasable to the public for any purpose.
Paxton replied that, contrary to election officials’ claims, “Anonymous voted ballots are election records under the Election Code, and the Legislature has established procedures aimed at both preserving those records and granting public access to them.”
“By demanding that the public have access to election records, including anonymous voted ballots,” Paxton noted in his opinion, “the Legislature thereby authorized the election records custodian’s entry to the locked ballot box during the 22-month preservation period for such purposes.”
Both Texas and United States law requires that election records be kept for a 22-month preservation period in case there is a recount or pending legal cases. Paxton’s opinion suggested that during that time, members of the public can, by application to the custodian, access the voted ballots.
However, Paxton carefully observed that any ballots viewed must have any personally identifiable information redacted.
“It is important to note that Texas law has long established that all elections shall be by secret ballot,” the attorney general explained.
Paxton emphasized that his legal opinion applies only to ballots that have “been stripped of any information that could be used to reveal the identity of the voter.”
Previously, citizens were not allowed to examine ballots regardless of whether they had been redacted.
In 1988, Texas Attorney General Jim Mattox issued a legal opinion insisting that “voted ballots from primary elections are statutorily exempt from public inspection only during the prescribed retention period.”
Still, Mattox allowed, “Any ballots retained by the custodian after that period are available for public inspection.”
Paxton, however, disagreed with Mattox’s opinion.
He explained that an “in-depth review by this office of the issues raised in that decision results in the opposite conclusion. … [it] is therefore overruled to the extent inconsistent with this opinion.”
Paxton’s opinion opens the door for the public and legislators to audit the election immediately instead of having to wait nearly two years to do so.
With concerns lingering about the integrity of elections at both a state and federal level, the increased transparency could soon be called upon as midterms approach.
DONT LET THE DEMORATS CHEAT ANYMORE.
This isn’t about republican, democrat, independent or any other party. This is about the right to vote and know your vote is private. There are ways that your vote can be determined by what you sign. If you think for one minute they can make this anonymous thats a joke. I want my vote left private.
VOTE BLUE STOP THE CHEATING !
The blue Democrats are the ones who are cheating. Activist judges and other Democrats fight very hard to keep audits from being done and the results of audits that have already been done from being released. If the election wasn’t stolen then then it should be no problem and should be transparent.
Show where the democrats cheated. Show your work. All that’s been shown is the republicans cheating time and time again.
The proof is that activist judges and other Democrats fight very hard to keep audits from being done and the results of audits that have already been done from being released. If the election wasn’t stolen then then it should be no problem and should be transparent.
Show your proof! The proof of the Demoncrats cheating has always been shown. Go watch some documentaries if you want to learn, but you don’t want to learn the truth.
What cheating? The Moron who stole the top secret papers has managed to fool his idiiot cult following and has never produced 1 iota of evidence of stolen votes. What he did prove, however, is that he tried to steal votes from Georgia. Trump’s largest demographic group iswhite males without college education – in other words, dumbasses.
I assume you are talking about Hillary Clinton?
When is this indicted criminal going to jail ?
I don’t think that president dummy will never go to jail until there is a Republican majority. Then hopefully him and son will both go.
Larry The other post is from Idiots that moved here for Blue State. We need to only let new people from the blue states live in Austin.
Trump and his two sons – the dummy and the crackhead – will be going to jail sooner than later.
Hopefully you are referring to Paxton, who is a 5-time INDICTED FELON on Securities Fraud in his home county of Collin County, Texas, and by a Republican Judge. He has no business as Texas’ Attorney General. He got the job by sucking up to Greg Abbot, who is a disgrace to Texas and the TRUE Republican Party (the party of Lincoln).
Why are you lying? You must be talking about Beto.
All these actions being done by an INDICTED MULTI-CHARGE FELON. Ken Paxton has ben formally indicted in his home county of Collin County for Securities FRAUD, on multiple indictments, by a Republican Judge (Paxton himself is a Republican). He has no business being Texas’ Top Cop.
When did we get rid of the Constitutional right to have a secret ballot?!?!?!
More Republican pressure which can open more issues about election integrity.
Send Paxton back to North Dakota where he came from
My votes are PRIVATE.