Associated Press: Texas’ new elections chief joined Trump’s challenge in 2020

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday picked as the state’s new elections chief an attorney who briefly joined former President Donald Trump’s legal team last year as it challenged the 2020 election results.

John Scott is also a former state litigator who defended Texas’ strict voter ID law, which was eventually upheld after a federal judge found it was designed to intentionally discriminate against minorities.

His appointment as secretary of state troubled voting rights groups near the end of an already highly charged year in Texas over elections, and at a moment when Trump and GOP activists are pressuring Abbott to perform a full audit of the 2020 election results — even though Trump won the state by 300,000 votes.

“In what world does it make sense to appoint someone who took an active role to discredit the will of voters?” said Stephanie Gomez, associate director of Common Cause Texas.