{"id":220,"date":"2023-03-17T17:21:36","date_gmt":"2023-03-17T17:21:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/texas\/press-releases\/media-release-how-texas-new-secretary-of-state-could-make-voting-more-accessible\/"},"modified":"2023-03-17T17:21:36","modified_gmt":"2023-03-17T17:21:36","slug":"media-release-how-texas-new-secretary-of-state-could-make-voting-more-accessible","status":"publish","type":"press","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/texas\/press\/media-release-how-texas-new-secretary-of-state-could-make-voting-more-accessible\/","title":{"rendered":"MEDIA RELEASE: How Texas\u2019 New Secretary of State Could Make Voting More Accessible"},"template":"","class_list":["post-220","press","type-press","status-publish","hentry","press_type-press-release"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"Fifteen Texas voting rights groups sent a letter to new Texas Sec. of State Jane Nelson outlining steps her office could take to improve voter turnout.","featured_image":"","press_type":153,"authors":[null],"related_issues":[117,406],"related_work":false,"location":52},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":false,"person":null,"name":"","role":"","phone":"","email":""},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

Fifteen Texas voting rights groups sent a letter to new Texas Sec. of State Jane Nelson outlining steps her office could take to improve voter turnout.<\/i><\/strong><\/h3>\r\n \r\n\r\nAUSTIN \u2014 Common Cause Texas joined 14 voting rights coalition partners in sending a letter this week to the new head of elections in Texas, suggesting steps that could address the barriers too many Texas voters are facing.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nFormer state Sen. Jane Nelson became the state\u2019s 115th Secretary of State and chief election officer for the state of Texas on Wednesday, after receiving confirmation from the state legislature.<\/span>\r\n
\u201cThe most urgent decision you face as newly confirmed Texas Secretary of State is affirming that Texas will remain in the Electronic Registration Information Center, commonly known as ERIC. It is important for the office of Secretary of State to mitigate, not validate, misinformation about the non-partisan member organization created and managed by state election officials and which has been a critical tool in registering more eligible Americans to vote,\u201d<\/span> the letter<\/a> signed by 15 groups, including Common Cause Texas, states. <\/span><\/blockquote>\r\nA copy of the letter is available here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nNelson steps into her new role facing a difficult reality \u2013 Texas elections and voter turnout are among the worst in the country, ranking 41st in the nation for voter turnout, and 46th for hardest states to vote in. As of the 2022 general election, 9.6 million registered Texans did not cast their ballot. This happens as a result of the state legislature passing laws focused on suppressing the vote white deliberately underfunding our state\u2019s critical elections systems.<\/span>\r\n\r\nFurthermore, Nelson\u2019s predecessors failed to put voters\u2019 needs first, and mismanagement in the office led to an abysmal statewide mail ballot rejection rate 12 times higher in the 2022 primaries than\u00a0 the 2020 presidential election, with voters of color having their ballots rejected at disproportionately high rates. The rejection rate in the November 2022 election remained unforgivably high -\u00a0 more than three times higher than in 2020.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cTexans deserve to be able to vote without barriers, so that we can be a state where all of our voices are heard,\u201d said <\/span>Katya Ehresman, voting rights program manager for Common Cause Texas.<\/b> \u201cSec. Nelson faces a unique opportunity to improve access and turnout for every Texan, regardless of party, and fulfill the foundational goals of her office. There are unused tools in the Secretary\u2019s toolbox that could be helping Texans vote without barriers, and we hope she will act to ensure every young and eligible voter in Texas can be encouraged to vote.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nBelow are additional policy recommendations<\/strong> that the Texas Secretary of State\u2019s Office could make today, if desired:\u00a0<\/span>\r\n

Election Administration<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\r\n