A top Texas official who championed a bill making it crime for public officials to send out unsolicited vote by mail applications is doing just that ahead of the March primary election.
An unsolicited letter that bears Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's official seal and includes an application to vote by mail was recently received by an Edgecliff Village resident. Senate Bill 1, an omnibus election law passed last year, prohibits election officials from sending applications to voters who didn't request one, but allows candidates and political parties to send the forms.
Supporters of the bill have said it was needed to bolster election integrity, though opponents say the law creates barriers to the polls. There's been no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 general election.
"Everyone age 65 and older has earned the right to vote by mail," the letter reads. "As Republicans, we have fought to make it easier to vote while protecting election integrity, so we need to make sure we increase our turnout by taking full advantage of this convenient and secure voting option."
The letter later continues, "Democrats are bragging again that they are going to turn Texas blue, and I'm not about to let that happen!"
In Texas, voters can cast their ballots by mail if they are 65 or older, disabled or sick, expected to give birth around the election, expected to be gone from the county or are in jail but otherwise eligible.
The letter touts Patrick and the Texas Senate's work during the legislative session on issues such as "election integrity reform," border security, education, health care and the power grid. It also notes that Patrick has endorsed State Rep. Phil King in his bid for Texas Senate. King is running in Senate District 10 which, after the latest redistricting cycle, includes parts of Tarrant and Johnson counties and all of Johnson, Palo Pinto, Stephens, Shackelford, Callahan and Brown counties.
The letter encourages recipients to complete their application so "we can elect these strong leaders and crush Democrats in 2022!"
"We must stop the destructive policies of the Biden Administration — open borders, anti-life, anti-Second Amendment and the spending of trillions of dollars that will raise your taxes," the letter reads.
The new Texas election law states that it's a state jail felony for "a public official or election official" to solicit "the submission of an application to vote by mail from a person who did not request an application" or "distribute an application to vote by mail to a person who did not request the application."
However, the law specifies that the law doesn't apply to officials acting in their "capacity as a candidate for a public elective office."
Patrick's office and campaign did not return requests for comment Monday.
He was a vocal supporter of the election bill signed into law in September and has pushed back against the expansion of voting by mail. In May 2020, he said expanding legibility to include people under the age of 65 amid the pandemic would lead to voter fraud.
University of Houston political science professor Brandon Rottinghaus said the design of the letter would appear to most as an official letter from the Texas lieutenant governor.
"The mingling of campaign and official duties are often very blurry on this mailer," he said in a text. Rottinghaus added, "The irony is that the state's new voting laws have made voting by mail harder but candidates continue to encourage their partisans to vote this way."
U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Houston, was criticized last week for sending applications to voters 65 and older, according to The Texas Tribune. The practice is not uncommon for candidates and political parties.
"That was a state Legislature decision. ..." Justin Discigil, Crenshaw's campaign spokesperson, told the news outlet. "Dan did not write the bill."
The Texas Democratic Party in January announced it was sending "hundreds of thousands" of vote by mail applications to Texans 65 and older.
"We are doing what the State of Texas isn't: We are making voting as easy as possible," Texas Democratic Party Voter Protection Director Rose Clouston said in a statement at the time. "Our goal is to make sure all eligible Texans are given the opportunity to cast their vote."
A spokesperson for the Texas Ethics Commission said it does not comment on any set of facts that may come before the commission.
Since the law went into effect, there have been reports of mail-in ballots being rejected over missing driver's license numbers or Social Security digits, including in Tarrant County. The new law requires voters to include their driver's license number, last four digits of their Social Security number or a statement saying they can't provide either number on their application. The number is required to match the number used when registering to vote.
