Texas signs agreements with nine states to strengthen election integrity

AUSTIN, TX - Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson announced today that Texas has entered into memorandums of understanding (MOU) with nine states to share voter registration data, strengthening efforts to prevent duplicate registrations. The agreements establish a secure and cooperative process for comparing voter registration records, providing a critical tool to detect and prevent potential voter fraud.

"These agreements are a significant step in our ongoing commitment to maintain accurate voter registration lists and upholding the integrity of our elections," said Secretary Nelson. "By working together, we are demonstrating how states can responsibly share information while protecting voter data."

The nine states Texas has an MOU with are:

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Ohio
• South Carolina
• Virginia
• West Virginia

Texas employs multiple data sources to maintain clean voter rolls, including information from federal and state agencies, such as the Social Security Administration and the Bureau of Vital Statistics. State-to-state agreements provide an additional tool to identify duplicate voter registrations, detect instances of voting in more than one jurisdiction, and ensure voter databases remain up to date.

The MOUs outline how the two states will securely exchange voter registration data while adhering to strict confidentiality and cybersecurity protocols. The agreements also ensure that any instances of duplicate registrations or potential voter fraud identified through this process are shared with appropriate authorities for further investigation.

These MOUs serve as a model for future partnerships. Texas plans to establish similar agreements with additional states. These agreements will further enhance election security by allowing states to work together to identify cross-state duplicate registrations and prevent voting in multiple jurisdictions.

"Texans expect fair and transparent elections," Nelson added. "These agreements provide an effective framework for safeguarding our voter rolls, and we look forward to expanding this initiative with other states in the near future."

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