Texas Gov. Greg Abbott claims election reform bill passed by House could result in Democrats 'using cocaine to buy votes' through ballot harvesting
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott fears Democrats could use 'cocaine to buy votes' if an election overhaul bill passed along party lines in the U.S. House were to become law.
While appearing on Fox News, Abbott said the bill would 'institutionalize voter fraud in the United States of America.'
Abbott was responding to the passage of H.R.1, which made it through the House of Representatives with only Democratic support on March 3.
The bill has not been introduced in the Senate yet, which is split evenly along Republicans and caucusing Democrats, with Vice President Kamala Harris holding a tiebreaking vote.
Abbott relayed a story from his time as attorney general of Texas that involved what he said was the buying of votes.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott appeared on Fox News on Sunday morning, where he claimed an election reform bill would allow the use of 'cocaine to buy votes'
'It was Barack Obama himself who knew about the dangers of ballot harvesting in the state of Texas,' Abbott said.
'Because under his administration, he sent his U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas as well as the FBI to south Texas to arrest and to prosecute people who were involved in ballot harvesting that were using cocaine to buy votes through the ballot harvesting process in the state of Texas.
Ballot harvesting is when a third-party is allowed to drop off a mail-in ballot on behalf of another individual.
Abbott didn't relay any additional details of the alleged harvesting.
'It is a way to commit voter fraud and it cannot be allowed,' he said
Maria Bartiromo, who was interviewing Abbott, called the story 'absolutely extraordinary.'
Abbott said H.R.1 would 'institutionalize voter fraud in the United States of America'
H.R.1 includes several voting rights efforts that have largely been rejected by Republican politicians, including the expansion of mail-in balloting.
It would also make Election Day a federal holiday across the United States.
Mail-in voting was a central target of Donald Trump's accusations of voting fraud during the 2020 presidential election, despite a lack of evidence tying fraud to mail-in voting, which was expanded due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Abbott claimed Barack Obama was aware of ballot harvesting in Texas during his presidency
A poll by Data For Progress shows that 67 percent of Americans are in favor of passing H.R.1.
That includes 77 percent Democratic support and 56 percent Republican support.
Biden has already signed an executive order to expand access to voter registration, improve ballot tracking for those overseas, and make certain provisions for jailed voters and citizens with disabilities.
According to Fox News, Biden said he will sign H.R.1 if it makes it past the Senate.
Abbott's reference to cocaine related to his argument against 'open border policies' supported by President Joe Biden.
H.R.1, which has passed the House of Representatives but hasn't been introduced in the Senate, would reform voting laws in the US, including the expansion of mail-in balloting
'The Border Patrol officers told me that the Biden administration and policies, they are enriching, they are empowering the drug cartels in Mexico who make money off of the people that they assist in smuggling into the state of Texas,' Abbott said during the interview.
Abbott has launched Operation Lone Star, which puts National Guard troops and Texas Department of Public Safety officers on the border to prevent further migrant smuggling.
Abbott also accused the Biden administration of failing to disclose the number of migrants at the border who have tested positive for COVID-19.
'We expect that data and we expect the Biden administration to step up and assist the state of Texas in being able to respond to that imported challenge, imported only because of the change in policies by the Biden administration,' Abbott stated.
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