State elections officials were asleep at the wheel after the Texas Legislature passed a raft of new voting rules last year. Soon after his appointment last fall, Secretary of State John B. Scott should have launched an aggressive education campaign to explain those new rules to voters and local elections administrators.
But the rollout of training and materials was slow, and that contributed to mass confusion in the primaries. Those most affected were seniors and others who usually vote by mail. Statewide, about 12% of mail-in ballots were rejected — more than 24,000 votes.
Scott’s office deserved the criticism it received at the time. But we’re glad to report that state leaders are being more assertive in educating voters for the general election, with county officials layering their own informational campaigns on top of the state’s marketing efforts.
