Thursday, October 25, 2012

Message to UN: Don't mess with Texas

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott issued a stern warning to an 'irrelevant' UN partner that wants to send 'observers' into the United States on Election Day...

AUSTIN - Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott today advised the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe -- a United Nations partner -- that groups and individuals from outside the United States do not have jurisdiction to interfere with Texas elections. The Attorney General's letter comes after the international group -- comprised of 56 members including EU nations and other countries such as Albania, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, the Russian Federation, Slovenia and Turkey -- announced they would be sending election observers to sites throughout the United States, including Texas, on Election Day.

The text of the letter can also be found here...but thought I'd post the last two paragraphs that get right to the point:

If OSCE members want to learn more about our election processes so they can improve their own democratic systems, we welcome the opportunity to discuss the measures Texas has implemented to protect the integrity of elections. However, groups and individuals from outside the United States are not allowed to influence or interfere with the election process in Texas. This State has robust election laws that were carefully crafted to protect the integrity of our election system. All persons—including persons connected with OSCE—are required to comply with these laws.

Elections and election observation are regulated by state law. The Texas Election Code governs anyone who participates in Texas elections—including representatives of the OSCE. The OSCE’s representatives are not authorized by Texas law to enter a polling place. It may be a criminal offense for OSCE’s representatives to maintain a presence within 100 feet of a polling place’s entrance. Failure to comply with these requirements could subject the OSCE’s representatives to criminal prosecution for violating state law.

Don't mess with Texas, boys. You've been warned.