March 31, 2022
PRESS CONTACT:
press@collierfortexas.com
RELEASE: Are Trump’s Lawyers Covering for Dan Patrick’s Vote by Mail Scheme?
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Today, the Collier campaign received the first round of documents from the Office of the Texas Secretary of State in response to a public information request (“PIR”) submitted nearly 40 days ago.
In response to a public information request (PIR) submitted by the Collier campaign, Secretary of State John B. Scott—who aided Donald Trump’s legal efforts to overturn 2020 election results—has requested a “decision from the Texas Attorney General as to whether it may withhold this information” relating to Lt. Governor Dan Patrick’s questionable vote by mail solicitations, leaving indicted Attorney General Ken Paxton—the only Attorney General in the country to file an election lawsuit on Trump’s behalf—to shield potentially damaging communication between his office and Dan Patrick, Trump’s Texas campaign chair.
The letter from the Office of the Texas Secretary of State to the Office of the Attorney General can be found here.
The PIR was submitted in an effort to determine whether the Texas GOP’s handpicked elections chief, John B. Scott, gave special treatment to vote by mail applications solicited by Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, following reporting by the Texas Tribune that longstanding guidance was seemingly changed for Patrick.
The Office of the Secretary of State only provided four documents in response to the PIR—all from Texans confused by the receipt of an unsolicited and partially pre-filled vote by mail applications distributed by Dan Patrick’s re-election campaign. The redacted documents can be found here.
Texas Democratic Candidate for Lt. Governor Mike Collier issued the following statement:
“In order to ensure safe and secure elections, Texans need transparency from the state’s top election officials on the rules—and whether they are being changed to benefit Dan Patrick. And instead of making the information publicly available to Texas voters by responding to our request, the Secretary of State has taken cover behind indicted AG Ken Paxton—who has already been accused of using his office for personal benefit—to shield this potential abuse of power. ”
BACKGROUND TIMELINE
September 7, 2021
Governor Abbott signs SB 1 into law, making it unlawful for non-partisan local election officials to solicit or encourage voting by mail, effective Dec. 2, 2021. Source: Texas Legislature
December 2021 – January 2022
Official SOS guidance states that ABBMs sent to their office will be rejected. Source: Wayback Machine via Texas Tribune
Lt. Governor Dan Patrick sends unsolicited mail ballot applications to voters across the state, using his official state seal. Source: WFAA.
February 16, 2022
Texas Secretary of State John Scott releases video stating that “In order to vote by mail you must make sure your application for a ballot by mail is received by Friday, February 18th at your county early voting clerk’s office.” Source: YouTube
February 17, 2022 –
Texas Tribune reports that in early February, Secretary Scott removed guidance stating ABBMs wrongly submitted to his office would be rejected.
The Texas Secretary of State begins “to sort and forward the Patrick-inspired forms to the counties where they should have been sent originally.”
February 18, 2022
The last day Local Election Clerks may receive ABBMs to vote in the March 1 Primary.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick appears on the Mark Davis Show and says that he directed applications to the Secretary of State’s office so there was a “record” of ABBMs.
Mike Collier is a lifelong businessman and energy expert from Houston, Texas. In 2018, he ran the closest race for Lt. Governor in twenty years against Dan Patrick, outperforming the rest of the Democratic ticket in two thirds of Texas counties.
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