Texas has taken a major step to protect the integrity of its elections, a move that highlights the state’s commitment to ensuring that only eligible citizens can cast their ballots. Under the leadership of Governor Greg Abbott, the Lone Star State has purged nearly one million ineligible voters from its rolls, including thousands of non-citizens and felons who had been improperly registered. This action comes as part of a broader initiative launched in 2021, aimed at safeguarding the democratic process and restoring public trust in elections.
Governor Abbott proudly announced the results, emphasizing the importance of election integrity in preserving democracy. “Election integrity is essential to our democracy,” Abbott stated. “I have signed the strongest election laws in the nation to protect the right to vote and to crack down on illegal voting. These reforms have led to the removal of over one million ineligible people from our voter rolls in the last three years, including non-citizens, deceased voters, and people who moved to another state.”
The numbers are striking: among the nearly one million ineligible voters removed, 6,500 were non-citizens and 6,000 were felons. These figures underscore the necessity of the state’s rigorous approach to maintaining clean voter rolls and ensuring that only those legally permitted to vote are able to do so. The effort is part of a broader movement by conservative states to safeguard their electoral systems against fraud and illegal voting.
Governor Abbott has made it clear that Texas will not rest on its laurels. “We will continue to actively safeguard Texans’ sacred right to vote while also aggressively protecting our elections from illegal voting,” he affirmed, noting that the process of cleaning up the voter rolls is ongoing.
Texas isn’t alone in this endeavor. States like Ohio have also taken decisive action to purge non-citizens from their voter rolls. In a recent audit, Ohio identified hundreds of non-citizens who were improperly registered to vote. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, standing firm in his duty to uphold the state constitution, swiftly removed these ineligible voters and referred 138 individuals to the state’s attorney general for prosecution.
LaRose’s commitment to election integrity echoes the sentiments expressed by Governor Abbott. “I swore an oath to uphold the constitution of our state, and that document clearly states that only United States citizens can participate in Ohio elections,” LaRose declared. He added, “We want to make sure a mistaken registration doesn’t become an illegal vote. We also want to make sure that lawfully registered citizens can participate seamlessly in the process.”
These efforts in Texas, Ohio, and other conservative states serve as a strong reminder of the importance of protecting the right to vote while ensuring that the electoral process remains free from fraud and illegal interference. As the nation faces challenges from illegal immigration and other factors that threaten the sanctity of the ballot box, leaders like Governor Abbott and Secretary LaRose are taking bold steps to preserve the integrity of American democracy.
In a time when trust in the electoral process is more crucial than ever, these actions demonstrate a clear commitment to upholding the rule of law and ensuring that every vote cast is legitimate and counts. The message is clear: election integrity is not just a priority—it’s a fundamental pillar of our democracy.
