Texas elections chief steps down ahead of midterm elections
Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson announced she will step down, leaving teh role responsible for administering elections and business filings vacant ahead of midterm elections.Her resignation follows major primary runoff upsets on May 26, including Attorney General Ken Paxton defeating Sen. John Cornyn and progressive Rep. Al Green losing to Rep. Christian menefee after district lines were redrawn.Nelson gave no specific reason for her departure, stating only that she was proud to serve during an critically important moment for Texas; she will leave effective July 17.
Nelson’s position is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state senate,which unanimously approved her in 2023. During her tenure, Texas shared voter-roll data with the Department of Justice and began using the federal SAVE system to remove noncitizens from voter eligibility records-actions that have led to pending federal litigation. Before becoming secretary of state, Nelson spent 30 years in the Texas Senate representing the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson announced Tuesday that she would step down, leaving the position charged with managing Texas’s midterm elections vacant.
Nelson’s resignation comes after a slew of high-profile upsets in the May 26 Texas primary runoff elections. Trump-endorsed state Attorney General Ken Paxton bested incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), and progressive stalwart Rep. Al Green (D-TX) lost to the younger Rep. Christian Menefee (D-TX) after their Houston districts were drawn together.
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Nelson did not give a reason for her departure, which is set for July 17. Nelson only commented that she was “proud” to have served as secretary of state at “an important moment for Texas.”
Unlike voters in most states, Texans do not directly elect their secretary of state. Instead, the position is appointed by the governor, subject to approval by the state senate. The 31-member body unanimously confirmed Nelson in 2023.
“I will work to safeguard honest and accurate elections in all 254 counties across our great state, while continuing to support business owners by ensuring that government moves at the speed of Texas business, not the other way around,” she said at the time.
Texas’s secretary of state is responsible for administering voter registration files and managing articles of incorporation for local businesses, among other responsibilities. Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) also designated Nelson as border commerce coordinator, giving her a broad mandate over the state’s $281.2 billion trade with Mexico.
Under Nelson’s leadership, Texas was one of at least 15 states to turn over its voter rolls, including dates of birth and partial Social Security numbers, in compliance with a Department of Justice request. Nelson also began using the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, database to remove noncitizens from its list of eligible voters. That move led to pending litigation in federal court.
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Prior to her tenure as secretary of state, Nelson served for 30 years in the Texas Senate, where she represented the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area. Nelson is the longest-serving Republican woman in Texas state Senate history.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Nelson’s office for more information on her departure.
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