Registration Form Shortage As Deadline Nears

Less than a week remains before the Jan. 31 deadline to register to vote in the March 1 primary. While Secretary of State John Scott publicly assured Texas voters that “every single eligible Texas voter will be able to register to vote if they have not done so already,” the League of Women Voters on Friday threatened to sue his office if the nonpartisan group isn’t provided with additional voter registration forms.

The Austin American-Statesman reported the league contends the state has decided to “sharply limit” the number of voter registration forms distributed to the league and other groups, claiming that is a violation of the National Voter Registration Act.

“It is crucial that the Secretary of State’s office act swiftly to provide the necessary voter registration forms for the people of Texas. The deadline to register to vote for the upcoming primary election is quickly approaching, and Texas is one of 11 states without online voter registration,” said Grace Chimene, president of the League of Women Voters of Texas.

Sam Taylor, assistant secretary of state for communications, told KUT.org that supply chain issues have made it harder and more expensive to get paper, which means the Secretary of State’s office will be giving out fewer voter registration forms to groups ahead of elections this year.

“We are limited in what we can supply this year because of the paper shortage and the cost constraints due to the price of paper and the supply of paper,” he said.

Texas is one of the few states that does not have online voter registration.

Leander Man Charged

A Leander man is the first person to be charged by federal officials in a case brought by a task force formed to combat threats against election officials. Numerous media outlets reported that Chad Christopher Stark posted a message last January on Craigslist, saying it was time to kill a Georgia elections official.

“Georgia Patriots it’s time for us to take back our state from these lawless treasonous traitors. It’s time to invoke our Second Amendment right it’s time to put a bullet in the treasonous Chinese [Official A]. Then we work our way down to [Official B] the local and federal corrupt judges,” Stark wrote, according to the indictment.

The three officials allegedly threatened were not named.

The Texas Tribune reported Georgia officials were especially targeted by a flood of hostile messages after they refused to back then-President Donald Trump’s claims of election fraud. Election officials across the country have faced criticism and personal attacks by Trump supporters claiming the election was stolen. No widespread instances of election fraud have come to light despite dozens of investigations.