Maybe this GOP leader can finally convince conspiracists that Texas elections are secure

It’s a tough time to be involved in the vote-counting business, from local part-time election workers all the way up to statewide officials.

That’s mostly because of harassment from election-fraud conspiracists and misplaced paranoia around the casting and tabulation of votes. At higher levels, though, it’s also about the impossibility of placating some powerful Republicans who insist on indulging that distrust.

So, Texas is about to have its fourth secretary of state in four years. Gov. Greg Abbott has selected retiring Sen. Jane Nelson, a Flower Mound Republican. The state needs stability in the office and a trusted voice who can project confidence in our voting systems.

Nelson is a smart choice. She was a serious conservative leader for three decades in the Senate. Nelson crafted complicated legislation to reform Child Protective Services, boost cancer research and cut property taxes. As chairwoman of the budget-writing Finance Committee, she helped strike compromises that funded priorities but satisfied demands for lean budgets.

Nelson’s credibility is badly needed in the secretary of state’s office. Texas hasn’t had a Senate-confirmed official in the job since 2018, in part because of concerns over elections. If Nelson can’t get easy approval from her former colleagues, no one can.

JOHN SCOTT’S TENURE AS TEXAS SECRETARY OF STATE

She replaces Fort Worth lawyer John Scott, whose tenure was troubled from the moment Abbott tapped him in October 2021. Scott had briefly signed up to represent former President Donald Trump in a lawsuit over Pennsylvania’s 2020 election results. He left the case after three days, but some objected that coming that close to attempts to overturn the results disqualified him.

Scott, though, was a force for election integrity and against efforts to malign the process. He followed through on county election audits begun before his tenure, when Trump goaded Abbott publicly over the matter. Scott promoted transparency and implemented yet another election security law that the Legislature approved. He also spoke out forcefully against election conspiracists — perhaps to the point that he, too, would face trouble gaining Senate Republicans’ blessing.

Preceding Scott was Ruth Hughs, who had the temerity to say that the 2020 election in Texas — which Trump won handily — was “smooth and secure.” She never got a Senate hearing.

It’s disheartening that enough senators — or, more to the point, the GOP activists who lobby them — can’t accept the truth about elections that they turn away several Abbott appointees. They’ll have trouble doing the same to Nelson.

The just-concluded elections in Texas were, to borrow that phrase, smooth and secure. Outside of some issues in Harris County, which always struggles to count votes in a timely manner, almost no one is suggesting any appreciable level of fraud or malfeasance in the 2022 midterms.

The paranoia never ebbs completely, though. The Legislature will take up new measures to “secure” elections, perhaps further restricting registration and making mail-voting harder. Calm, confident voices must defend our elections officials throughout Texas against false charges and unnecessary burdens on their already-challenging work.

REPUBLICAN VOTERS WHO DOUBT ELECTIONS MAY NOT VOTE

Republicans need more trusted leaders to start telling the truth, loudly, about elections. It’s the right thing to do for our democracy. But if nothing else, it’s in their own political interest. Some number of GOP voters are throwing up their hands, convinced that every Democratic victory means the system is rigged. Republicans can’t afford to have more voters stay home, even in Texas. They must find ways to persuade as many as possible that their vote, properly cast, is properly counted.

Some can’t be reached. But transparency will win many over. Tarrant County elections chief Heider Garcia has won notice for bending over backwards to open his office to doubters and shed light on processes. So far, at least, complaints about the 2022 election here have been muted, and Garcia’s efforts deserve at least some of the credit.

At the state level, Nelson is well positioned to do the same. Other Texas GOP leaders would be wise to help her, or at least get out of her way.