Election Denial in Texas
2 Election Deniers currently hold statewide office with election oversight power.
10 Election Deniers have held, or run for, statewide office since 2020.
The landscape in Texas
For years, states have cooperated with each other to make sure their voter rolls are accurate. They did so through a program called ERIC. It was uncontroversial—until Election Deniers made it the target of disinformation.
At least nine states have since dropped out. Texas became the ninth and largest in 2023, after what one news outlet called a “conspiracy theory whirlwind.” Withdrawal from ERIC is just one example of how Texas lawmakers have made life harder for election administrators. Another is a law that applied to just one county and abolished the election administrator job there.
Texas’s Tarrant County, home to Fort Worth, joined a troubling trend by creating a law enforcement unit dedicated to election law violations. Entities like these do more to erode trust in elections than to prosecute actual cases of fraud. Eight months later, the county didn’t seem to know how many people had been punished as a result of the unit’s investigations.
Election Denial and disinformation, which go hand in hand, were prominent in the state’s 2022 elections. One report found that Texas had more Election Deniers running that year than any other state.
Texas is also home to Sen. Ted Cruz. Early in the afternoon of Jan. 6, he objected to Arizona’s valid electoral votes, even though there was no evidence of fraud or other wrongdoing. Lawmakers were debating the Arizona objection when rioters overtook the Capitol. When the building was secured and the electoral count resumed, Cruz voted to reject valid electoral votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania. Sixteen other members of Congress from Texas joined objections to one or both states.
2 Election Deniers hold statewide Office right now.
Elections are run by the states. The Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State are the state officials responsible for overseeing elections. In Texas, the Secretary of State is appointed by the Governor. It’s up to them to make sure the will of the people is always respected.
Read more about The Roles of Our Elected Officials in Elections
Governor of Texas
Term started 2023
Term ends 2027
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Spread lies or promoted conspiracies about the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election or subsequent election cycles in public, including in social media, press statements, or comments to the press.
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Refused to concede a race, or publicly supported a candidate’s refusal to concede a race, after the results were officially audited or stood up to multiple legal challenges.
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Falsely claimed former President Trump won the 2020 presidential election instead of the legitimate winner, President Biden.
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Refused to certify, or called on or pressured election officials to refuse to certify, the 2020 presidential election results or a race in subsequent elections based on meritless claims about election fraud, voter fraud, misinformation, or lies.
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Taken action to undermine the integrity of the 2020 presidential election or subsequent election cycles, including:
Filing or supporting litigation seeking to overturn the results based on conspiracies or baseless legal theories.
Filing or supporting litigation that was sanctioned for being malicious or without merit in the aftermath of an election.
Promoting or participating in a Stop the Steal–sponsored or branded event or rally during or following the 2020 election.
Calling for a “forensic audit” of the 2020 presidential election or a race in subsequent elections after the results were certified, were officially audited, or stood up to multiple legal challenges.
Attorney General of Texas
Term started 2023
Term ends 2027
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Taken action to undermine the integrity of the 2020 presidential election or subsequent election cycles, including:
Filing or supporting litigation seeking to overturn the results based on conspiracies or baseless legal theories.
Filing or supporting litigation that was sanctioned for being malicious or without merit in the aftermath of an election.
Promoting or participating in a Stop the Steal–sponsored or branded event or rally during or following the 2020 election.
Calling for a “forensic audit” of the 2020 presidential election or a race in subsequent elections after the results were certified, were officially audited, or stood up to multiple legal challenges.
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Falsely claimed former President Trump won the 2020 presidential election instead of the legitimate winner, President Biden.
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Spread lies or promoted conspiracies about the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election or subsequent election cycles in public, including in social media, press statements, or comments to the press.
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Refused to certify, or called on or pressured election officials to refuse to certify, the 2020 presidential election results or a race in subsequent elections based on meritless claims about election fraud, voter fraud, misinformation, or lies.
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Refused to concede a race, or publicly supported a candidate’s refusal to concede a race, after the results were officially audited or stood up to multiple legal challenges.
How Texas compares
Every state runs its own elections, with its own laws and processes. Check out how Texas compares with other states in its region when it comes to Election Deniers holding state election administration jobs.
Election Denial in Southwest States
| Moreinformation about Arizona | |||||
| Moreinformation about New Mexico | |||||
| Moreinformation about Oklahoma | |||||
| Moreinformation about Texas |
Sitting official is an Election Denier
- In Oklahoma, the Secretary of State is appointed by the state senate.
- In Texas, the Governor appoints the Secretary of State. Texas Governor Greg Abbott is an Election Denier and appointed Jane Nelson in January 2023.
Voter turnout over time
Voters are always the backstop against election denial, whether Election Deniers are already in office or vying for power. It’s important to turn out for every election in your state—and to vote in every race on your ballot. Downballot races, like contests for Attorney General and Secretary of State, have historically drawn fewer voters, even though the positions are critical to keeping elections free, fair, and secure. Here’s a look at voter participation in Texas elections over time. Notice that in years with several important positions up for election, some voters choose not to vote in every race.
Voter Participation in Texas Since 2016
- #071B40
- President
- #2455A0
- Senator
- #4387F1
- Governor
- #A7C5F3
- Attorney General
- #EDF3FD
- Secretary of State
2016 Presidential
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President had a 52% voter turnout rate
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2018 Midterm
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Senator had a 47% voter turnout rate
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Governor had a 47% voter turnout rate
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Attorney General had a 46% voter turnout rate
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2020 Presidential
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President had a 61% voter turnout rate
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Senator had a 60% voter turnout rate
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Voter turnout
Data on the number of votes cast in each race are from state elections depositories, supplemented with data from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), House Election Statistics, and The Book of States. Rates are calculated using the Census’s Citizen Voting Age Population (CVAP) estimates. Rates will be updated when the Census releases new CVAP data for 2022.
Beyond the ballot box
Each year, state legislators introduce thousands of bills related to elections. And in the past few years, we’ve identified a concerning trend. Across the country, state legislatures are considering bills that would make it easier for partisan actors to manipulate an election, and maybe even overturn the will of the people. We’re tracking these bills along with our partners in an ongoing series of reports called “A Democracy Crisis in the Making.” In 2023 alone, through early May, we tracked 185 bills introduced in 38 state legislatures that would politicize, criminalize, or interfere with elections.
The anti-democracy playbook is simple: change the rules and change the referees, in order to change the results. These bills go hand-in-hand with the Election Denier movement: They’re about taking power away from voters and making it harder for trusted election officials to do their jobs.
Legislative Interference in Texas by Category
As of May 3, 2023, 44 bills had been introduced or were under consideration in Texas. 2 have been enacted or adopted and none have been vetoed after passing.
These bills show that the threat to elections in Texas, and all across the country, goes well beyond the ballot box.
- Imposing disproportionate criminal or other penalties.These bills would create or expand penalties for election officials in the ordinary execution of their jobs, including criminalizing inadvertent mistakes.
- Creating unworkable burdens in election administration.These bills would interfere with the basic procedures of election administration, increasing the risk of chaos and delay and enabling misleading claims of irregularity.
- Seizing power over election responsibilities.These bills would shift election administration responsibilities away from professional, nonpartisan officials and toward partisan actors in the legislature.
- Requiring partisan or unprofessional election “audits” or reviews.These bills would establish vague post-election review schemes without the professional standards of traditional audits.
- Usurping control over election results.These bills would give legislators or other state officials direct control over election outcomes.