Texas Republican Party delegates—who last month approved a resolution rejecting Joe Biden as a legitimately elected president—adopted a sweeping new platform with a big focus on election integrity.
The state’s GOP released the results of its 2022 platform vote this week. Two of the measures seek fair elections free of illegal voting practices and updated voter registration rolls to combat fraud.
Among provisions for fair elections, Republicans want to limit mail-in ballots to those who can’t physically appear in person, and prohibit internet voting for public office, mandate full signature verification for mail-in ballots, require voter photo ID, and deter counterfeiting by using sequential ballots.
On voter rolls, Republicans want voters to re-register if they haven’t voted in five years. Voter requirements include proof of residency, citizenship, and a photo ID. They also approved compiling a list of certified deaths so the Texas secretary of state’s office can remove deceased persons from voter rolls. They also want to repeal all motor voter laws.
The platform reflects concerns raised in the resolution rejecting the certified results of the 2020 presidential election. In June, nearly 5,000 delegates at the Texas Republican Convention voted on the resolution and platform.
The resolution declared that the 2020 election violated the Constitution by allowing secretaries of state to circumvent their state legislatures illegally. It asserted that “substantial election fraud” had occurred in key metropolitan areas, affecting the results in five states to Biden’s favor.
Matt Rinaldi, chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, said in a statement that the Texas GOP was raising funds for election integrity, which is a top priority to ensure that Texas never goes down the same path as Pennsylvania, Georgia, or Arizona.
“Texas Republicans rightly have no faith in the 2020 election results, and we don’t care how many times the elites tell us we have to. We refuse to let Democrats rig the elections in 2022 or 2024,” he said.
Democrats have long dismissed the idea of significant voter fraud swaying the outcome of the 2020 election, calling it misinformation perpetuated by former President Donald Trump in his effort to overturn a legitimate election.
Texas Republicans also made election integrity a top legislative priority for the 2023 session. Delegates want to restore felony penalties and enact civil penalties for election code violations. They want to restrict the distribution of mail-in ballots, limit early voting, and close Republican primaries.
The Republicans also called for legislation allowing the state’s attorney general to have the authority to prosecute election fraud, after the all-Republican Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled the state’s attorney general couldn’t unilaterally do so in December 2021.
James Wesolek, a media spokesman for the Republican Party of Texas, told The Epoch Times that the vast majority of the 274 planks of the platform passed with 80 percent or more support. Five items had less than 80 percent, but none came in less than 70 percent of the vote. The platform covers a wide range of topics, including border security, medical freedom, pro-life issues, constitutional rights, and even Texas secession.
