Democratic strategist Estuardo Rodriguez warned on Wednesday that efforts to purge thousands of voters from state election rolls over questions of their legality is increasingly becoming a “conservative campaign tactic.”
“This is not just a Texas, conservative issue but this is across the country,” Rodriguez, a principle at the Raben Group, told Hill.TV’s Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton on “Rising.”
“There are efforts to purge voter rolls and it’s very much a conservative, campaign tactic,” he added.
Rodriguez was responding to recent revelations over a failed move in Texas to strike thousands of voters from rolls.
Acting Texas Secretary of State David Whitley (R) resigned last week after his office wrongly challenging the citizenship of nearly 100,000 voters in the state.
At the time, Whitley was facing a tough confirmation vote, with all 12 Democrats in the state Senate blocking his confirmation over the failed purge.
Voter access has become a contentious issue between Republicans and Democrats.
Last year, the Supreme Court upheld a controversial voting law in Ohio that effectively allows the state to purge voters from registration rolls if they don’t vote or fail to return a mailed address confirmation form.
The move is part of the GOP’s broader effort to tighten voting laws following the 2018 midterm elections. While Republicans say they are trying to maintain the integrity of voter rolls, advocates and Democrats argue these laws are designed to suppress votes, particularly among poor and minority voters.
—Tess Bonn
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