Prof says that election integrity is racist. Texas state representative reacts.
Texas State Representative James White (R-13) joined Campus Reform to discuss the legal and academic debate surrounding election integrity legislation.
This conversation comes as the 2022 midterm elections approach and the push for election integrity has been met with accusations of racism.
A Texas A&M University history professor accused Republicans of attempting to suppress the minority vote with election integrity laws, claiming that the motivation for Republicans to pass such legislation is the “realization” that they “cannot win at the polls in a fair election.”
Texas A&M history professor Albert Broussard participated in a Feb. 28 Q&A with Texas A&M Today in which he laid out his arguments for why he believes Republican legislators are trying to suppress the minority vote with election integrity laws, a charge White described as “totally inaccurate.”
Texas State Representative James White (R-13) spoke to Campus Reform to discuss the hotly-debated issue of election integrity in wake of these comments as the 2022 midterm elections approach.
Rep. White used the recent Texas election integrity bill SB1 as an example, explaining the rationale for the policies which have faced no shortage of hostility from politicians and academics accusing those who support the bill of racist motivations.
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“I have to show some form of a picture ID, state approved ID, when I vote in person,” White said on the state’s voter ID policies. “We’re just extending the same type of credentialing for mail in vote. So why would you have one type of credentialing for one form of voting and have another form of credentialing for another form of voting?”
White then explained that professors painting Republicans as racist for supporting voter ID laws and similar election integrity measures “does a disservice to all students, regardless of their ideological or partisan persuasion.”
“As a member of the legislature,” Rep. White said, “I hear a lot of complaints and concerns from parents who have to pay these exorbitant costs at these universities.”
He further pointed out that “throughout the country, wherever we’ve had good voter integrity laws... we’ve actually seen voting participation increase,” and mentioned that citizens must have identification for other purposes in life other than voting.
“To say that voting, all of a sudden showing a photo ID is discriminatory from a racial basis, and not for prescriptions… at the pharmacy, is absolutely stupid,” Rep. White said.
When Campus Reform reached out to Broussard for clarification on his comments, he responded, “I think I made my position crystal clear. Your query does not warrant an additional comment.”
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The Texas representative additionally discussed the history of “racist Democrats that were often enforcing these racialist and discriminatory election laws on black citizens.”
His advice for conservative students on campus is, “to recognize that as conservatives, by nature, we are corporate beings. We believe in deliberation, connecting with our fellow human being, our fellow brother and sister in faith in Christ.”
“And so one thing we have to understand is that we have to continue supporting uplifting and empowering great organizations like Campus Reform, so that if I’m on campus, and I’m hearing all of this, there’s probably a place of intellectual refuge, that I can go to exchange ideas.”
White posed the question, “when does intellectual freedom become a convenience for indoctrination, political indoctrination?”
Campus Reform reached out to Texas A&M and Albert Broussard for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
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