Texas Secretary of State resigns from office
December 5, 2022 | Austin, TX
Texas Secretary of State John Scott has announced his resignation from office effective Dec. 31, 2022. Scott was appointed by Governor Greg Abbott on Oct. 21, 2021, to oversee the forensic audit of the 2020 Texas General Election. Final results of the audit will be released before Scott leaves office.
“The Texas Secretary of State's office has developed a successful framework for analyzing and transparently reporting on election security through the forensic election audit process," Scott said.
Scott has repeatedly stated that Biden is the legitimately elected president, that those who question the 2022 Election are uninformed, and that voting machines in Texas are not connected to the internet.
“Joe Biden’s been the president, he is the president, and will be the president for two more years. If he wins the next election, he’ll be president for the next four years,” Scott said most recently in an Oct. 10 interview with Texas Monthly in which he called those claiming a stolen election “nuts.”
President Donald Trump called the forensic audit “weak” because it was limited to four counties in Texas, the two largest Democrat counties (Harris and Dallas) and the two largest Republican counties (Collin and Tarrant), according to the Secretary of State’s reporting.
Referring to voting machines connected to the internet, Scott said, “It’s completely false. There are zero machines in this state that are connected to the internet. They’re not connected to anything. They stand alone, and that air gap is what gives them the protection that we depend upon.”
These comments were made after more than 5,000 delegates to the July 2022 Republican Party of Texas State Convention made “Protect Our Elections” their number one Legislative Priority for the upcoming Jan. 2023 Legislative Session.
Democrats opposed Scott’s appointment to office, citing his brief participation in President Trump’s legal challenge to the 2020 Pennsylvania election results. On Nov. 13, 2020, Scott was announced as an attorney representing President Trump, but withdrew as counsel three days later.
The Secretary of State serves as Chief Election Officer for Texas. During his time in office, Scott presided over four major 2022 statewide elections.
He also serves as senior advisor and liaison to the governor for Texas Border and Mexican Affairs and as Texas' Chief International Protocol Officer, focusing on diplomatic and commercial relationships with more than 60 nations and helping to negotiate agreements with the Mexican states of Nuevo Leon, Chihuahua, Coahuila and Tamaulipas, on enhancing border security and legitimate cross-border commerce.
The Secretary of State is one of six state officials named by the Texas Constitution to form the Executive Department of the state. The first Secretary of the Republic of Texas was Stephen F. Austin.
The Secretary of State is appointed by the governor and is the only unelected state executive officer in Texas. The governor’s appointees are subject to confirmation by the state Senate. Scott was up for confirmation in the Jan. 2023 Legislative Session. He will be the third Secretary appointed by Abbott to leave office before confirmation by the Texas Senate.
Governor Abbott had not yet commented publicly on Secretary Scott’s resignation as of Monday afternoon.