AUSTIN (WBAP/KLIF) – Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick lashed out at big corporations and political leaders on Tuesday over continued push back against election legislation being considered in Austin.
Patrick also hammered Major League Baseball for moving its All Star Game out of Atlanta because of recently passed elections laws in Georgia that tighten voting restrictions. Governor Greg Abbott declined to throw the first pitch at the Texas Rangers’ home opener after the MLB made its announcement.
American Airlines and Dell have both spoken out against Senate Bill 7, which would put limits on mail-in voting access and extended early voting.
“As Lt. Governor of Texas, I am stunned that American Airlines would put out a statement saying ‘we are strongly opposed to this bill’ just minutes after their government relations representative called my office and admitted that neither he nor the American Airlines CEO had actually read the legislation,” said Lt. Gov Dan Patrick. “We heard these same outcries claiming voter suppression in 2011 when Texas passed the photo voter ID bill. In fact, just the opposite occurred. Voter turnout in Texas soared from 7,993,851 in 2012 to 11,144,040 in 2020, a 39 percent increase. Gubernatorial election voter turnout has increased by 76 percent since photo voter ID was passed.”
Opponents say the legislation suppresses Texas voters, but Patrick contends it secures elections.
“Texans are fed up with corporations that don’t share our values trying to dictate public policy,” Patrick said. “The majority of Texans support maintaining the integrity of our elections, which is why I made it a priority this legislative session.”
Democrats argue that election reform isn’t needed and is only being discussed in the wake of unproven claims of fraud in the 2020 Presidential election.
Listen to Clayton Neville’s story below:
Copyright 2021. WBAP/KLIF News. All Rights Reserved.
