Open Letter to Kronberg: Here are the Facts
“Your piece reflects a pathological determination to push the left-wing phony voter suppression narrative regardless of the facts.”
AUSTIN TX – Lt. Governor Dan Patrick’s Senior Advisor, Sherry Sylvester, released the following open letter to Quorum Report Publisher Harvey Kronberg today:
“No one, including me, expects accuracy from the Quorum Report anymore — it’s just a daily rehash of lobbyist gossip and Democrat talking points. It was heartening last week to see Harvey Kronberg’s byline on a piece – a rarity these days – but then I saw that he had written a screed on the Election Security Bill (Senate Bill 7) which is so inaccurate, even by QR’s standards, that there must be a rebuttal.
“Kronberg’s charge that somehow the Senate used “tricks” or did not operate in good faith on Senate Bill 7 reflects a pathological determination to push the left-wing phony voter suppression narrative and demonize advocates for the election reforms that even a Texas Tribune lefty-leaning poll shows a majority of Texans support. Here are the facts:
“The Conference Committee report for SB 7 was in the hands of the House — not the Senate. As Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and Senator Bryan Hughes have both said, they did not submit preliminary drafts nor the draft that was ultimately filed as the Conference Committee Report (CCR) to the Legislative Council for drafting. The Senate did not make any unilateral additions to or subtractions from their CCR instructions. The Senate also did not insert language in the CCR to overturn elections.
“The Senate did not include language regarding voting hours on Sunday in SB 7. The House inserted that language in the CCR. The Senate never intended to change Sunday voting hours and they will not be changed in the election reform bill that is passed in Special Session. The Senate will leave the current law the way it is.
“The House hired an outside attorney and authorized her to submit changes directly to the Legislative Council. The Senate didn’t hire an outside attorney.
“This misinformation included in Kronberg’s piece will undoubtedly spur on the Texas press to continue to write that the election reform bill will suppress the vote. But as Harvey certainly remembers, the Texas press cried “voter suppression” when photo voter ID was passed in 2011 and again in 2017 when straight-ticket voting was eliminated.
“If Quorum Report and the rest of the Texas press were honest, they would admit they were wrong about voter suppression in both instances. Since photo voter ID passed Presidential voter turnout has increased 40%. Gubernatorial Election turnout has increased 76%. Before photo voter ID was in place, 58.6% of Texans voted. In 2020, 66.7% of Texans voted. 2020 was also the first election held without straight-ticket voting. There was record-breaking turnout. Importantly, 85% of all Texans, including Democrats, support photo voter ID.
“Quorum Report and the rest of the Texas press also didn’t report a Texas Association of Business poll released in April that showed that Texans support most of the provisions in Senate Bill 7 including a paper record for every ballot and stricter verification procedures for mail-in ballots. Furthermore, despite a daily diet of news stories on voter suppression in our state, fully 95% of Texans say it is EASY to vote in Texas. 95%!
“With all the coverage of election reform, those TAB poll findings were surely worthy of an afternoon Buzz notice on Quorum Report — but you all and the rest of the Texas press skipped it because it didn’t fit the left-wing narrative.
“Regarding Senate Bill 7, if QR has any evidence that disputes the facts laid out here – please bring it forward. If not, correct your report.”
