From Cape you news in Austin,
you're watching Texas this
week with Ashley Guddo Good
Sunday morning, the 2022 election
season is starting to come into focus.
That's where we'll start with the three
things you need to know in Texas politics.
The deadline for Democratic and
Republican candidates to file to
run for office was Monday evening.
That was also the deadline for independence
to submit their intent to run.
You can find the link to
candidatefilings@kview.com.
The Public Utility Commission
approved sweeping changes to Texas
electricity market with the goal of
increasing the reliability of the grid.
But it could come at a cost to Texans.
The Commissioner is giving new
orders to Irkut to lower the Max
price the state will allow a power
company to charge during an emergency
and increase energy reserves.
Experts say it's not exactly clear
how the new price structure will
impact your electricity bill,
but they expect bills to increase.
Construction has started on
Governor Greg Abbott's border wall.
He shared this tweet from a Fox
News reporter Friday with pictures
of wall panels being installed in
Stark County on state owned land.
The reporter noted the contractor
hired by Texas is the same contractor
that was building the wall for
former President Donald Trump.
Governor Abbott tweeted in part
quote Texas is stepping up to
do the federal government's job,
the state's chief elections officer has been
on the job for just about two months now.
In that time, John Scott has been busy
charged with auditing 2020 election
results for the state's four largest
counties visiting election officers
across Texas and now preparing
for the 2022 primary election.
We sat down in one of his first television
interviews to discuss his new role
and vision for elections in Texas.
I first want to talk to you about
your appointment.
You know you're obviously not new to
Texas and not new to Texas government,
but to get that call from Governor
Greg Abbott.
To say I want you to be the
Secretary of State.
What was your reaction
well honored in just a simple word I?
I think it's a lot from a guy that
Granddad was a pipe fitter and his parents.
Neither one of them went to college
and I mean it brought some pride
to the family and I think so.
Honor is the best word I could
use to describe it.
This is an appointment that
I think a lot of people,
particularly Democrats,
were a little nervous to see who
would be named to this position,
but you've gotten praise from
from both sides of the aisle.
Is that reassuring for you? I think
it raises the expectations
that I be fair and impartial,
and I think when we talk about the audit,
for instance, that is the thing that
concerns most people most of the time,
and I think most of the legislators,
and I think that at the end of the day.
The work product has to speak for
itself and it has to be fair,
impartial and evidence based,
and so that's what I can assure everybody
on all sides that we're going to produce.
There was a little bit of pushback,
obviously people pointing to some
concern about your appointment because
the fact that you for a business day
represented former President Donald
Trump wanted his lawsuit challenging
the election in Pennsylvania,
talked to us about that.
It was another one of those opportunities.
They had an interesting case set of facts.
Went up there and the law changed a little
bit because of the 3rd Court of Appeals.
United States Court of Appeals on an
electric clause decision. And so.
A lot of the ideas that might have
been relevant were no longer that,
so there was kind of a change of I
guess goals and no longer really
need to be involved in the case.
Did
you trust the results of the 2020 election?
I I think I was like everybody else.
I went and voted.
I went and cast my ballot and I
I went in there and thought it
was going to be a fair election
and I and my personal experience.
I never saw anything that was
anything different than any
election I'd ever cast a ballot in.
I think my experience up in
Pennsylvania for his brief time
as it was where the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania has 67 counties.
There were seven counties that
used machines to weigh metal in
ballots and I think that's the
part that gave me any concern.
Not that it altered.
The overall results of a
presidential election,
but it was one of those things
that elections should be done the
same way everywhere throughout the
state to ensure that it's fair.
We don't want the richest enclaves
in our state to have one set of
rules and the rest of the state.
We all have to operate under a
different ones and I be like Westlake,
in a county election because
they've got a lot of money somehow.
Being able to keep their voting
operations 24/7.
And the rest of us get, you know,
six hours a day because there's
not enough money to fund the
other voting establishes.
So I think you want to make sure that
everything stays fair and impartial.
And that's I didn't see any evidence of that.
In my personal experience up in Fort Worth,
when I voted,
Tarrant County seemed great,
but at the end of the day,
that's what the audit is
supposed to evaluate,
while we want it to be fair across the board,
it should be fair across the board.
We should have a base set of rules.
I don't think anyone
would disagree with that.
Do we not see, though,
that different communities in
Texas have different needs?
And so maybe they should be able
to allow some extended voting
hours or things of that nature?
I think that's where it becomes
very difficult to do oversight,
and that's one of the jobs
that that SOS is tasked with.
And if you have one set of stand,
we can use Harris County,
'cause it was literally one of
the will use them as the Canary
that has identified some issues,
potentially that.
Brought a lot of the legislation
up I think which is they did 24
hour drive through voting and.
Is that something that?
Was available to everybody in
every location around the state.
No?
And I and it gets back to a little
bit about what I was talking about
with the places that have enough
money to do their elections.
One way should not have an advantage
over another voter who works
in lives in another community,
and that's I think why you need
one set of rules of the road
for everybody to operate under.
Let's talk a bit about the audits
you were appointed to this position.
And then sort of this big project kind of
kind of fell on you and it it did I think.
Have some political undertones.
Obviously that we were going to do
some audits of the 2020 election.
I want you to 1st talk to us about
the fairness of that election.
Your predecessor said that
in Texas things ran smoothly.
She did not see evidence
of widespread voter fraud.
Has that been your experience thus far?
I I really don't want to speak
for former Secretary Hughes,
but I I've known her for awhile.
She's an honest person.
I have no reason to doubt what she says.
I don't think from our perspective
we're trying to do anything other
than evaluate what went on during the
election in the four largest counties.
Something that is about 35% of the voters,
their votes that were cast in that election
will be under analysis and we're going
to let that decide really what we find.
And really comment at that point in time.
NSA comment we're going to address
all the issues that we find,
and we're also going to show if there's been
security that everybody should have faith in.
Here's the evidence of it
that it did work right?
Or here's the evidence where
it didn't work right?
So we want to make sure that we get to
a best practices almost on all security
and bring confidence back into our elections.
That's the goal.
But you did say, address
the concerns that we find.
Do you feel like you are going to
find some things that are concerning?
Well, we've got a first,
so we have two phases on the.
On this process and the first phase is
one that's looking for people that may
have voted in more than one jurisdiction.
Texas in another state.
Another is are the counties doing
their voter roll maintenance and so
and what was did all the counties,
had they instituted the security
analysis before the election?
So we're trying to make sure I'm
going to give a snapshot of that,
and I think there's going to
be some findings on those,
or at least on one of those areas that
I think is was kind of surprising.
Not something that and again people need
to understand we're not trying to go back.
There is no way to go back
and change any election.
Any election results.
This is really looking at are the systems
in place that are supposed to be in place?
Did they work right?
It's no different than going to sitting down
for a test when we were back in school.
We got tested on our knowledge.
They're going to be tested to a
certain extent on did the system
work in the way it was supposed to,
and if there were lapses,
what were the net results of those lapses
are? Are you surprised at all when
we look at some of the polling?
Right, even though it's the same election
that people are asked about, they do
question the validity of the election.
There are Texans who don't
necessarily think that it's fair,
or I know I go out and talk to people when we
try to encourage them to come out and vote.
And they say, well,
I don't think it matters.
How are you going to tackle that?
I think that's one of the really
great points that anyone could make,
which is we don't want anyone to
have the unintended consequences of
dissuading someone to vote because
they don't think it's going to matter.
Or their votes being cancelled,
and I think that's one of the
things that I fear most about.
When someone says that an election was
stolen or somehow fraud took place,
what is the net effect on other
voters out there?
Will it dissuade them from even
taking the time to go vote?
And so that's why this audit is so
important is to reassure people that we
have integrity in our elections process.
It's safe,
and I think that's the real end goal of this.
To bring back confidence in the elections.
And let the politicians go battle
all they want about policy and in
and hopefully that gets all the
people to go out there and vote.
Wait it takes away at least a new
excuse on why they don't vote.
How about that?
But now Secretary Scott,
let me ask you some of that rhetoric.
Regardless of what your audit finds,
some of this rhetoric is going
to continue because while
voting should not be political,
it is going to be political.
How are you going to combat that?
If those voices about you know
widespread fraud or widespread issues
are coming from within your own party?
So I I think the goal is not to
address every issue people have I.
I think there is to there is the goal
to make sure that federal and state
laws relating to elections or followed
and after that if someone wants to find
something that's that's going to be a
different issue for a different day.
And somebody besides me.
But that cannot be the role of the state
or the Secretary of State's office,
because we are never going to sway.
We're never going to convince everyone.
That every one of their concerns
have been addressed.
What we're going to be is someone who
tries to make sure that all the federal
and state laws in this state are
followed and can assure them on that.
You can watch my full interview
with Secretary Scott on the K View
YouTube page. That's Texas this week.