AUSTIN, Texas — The members of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus (MALC) held a news conference Monday, ahead of Governor Greg Abbott's State of the State Address Tuesday, to talk about their legislative priorities.
During the news conference, members announced they created a special committee that will look into the list from the Texas Secretary of State's Office of 95,000 registered voters whose citizenship status is in question.
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Days after lists were sent to elections administrators across the state, they learned thousands of the names on the list are of people who are in fact citizens.
Austin Representative Eddie Rodriguez is overseeing the MALC committee and questions the motive for the Secretary of State's investigation.
"The list went out on a Saturday, on Monday you had a bill filed in the Senate that required citizenship before you register to vote and then you had in the House two days later, last Wednesday, an identical bill in the House filed. So I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but there are a lot of things that are happening kind of coincidentally around the same time," said Rodriguez.
Rodriguez said he met with Secretary of State David Whitley once and he has since declined to meet with the MALC committee, saying now that a lawsuit has been filed, his attorneys advise against it. Rodriguez said that's troubling to him because while the representatives are elected, Whitley is appointed by the governor.
It's worth noting, Whitley still hasn't been confirmed by the Texas Senate.
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