Commentary roundup: What newspapers around the state are saying

Houston Chronicle

Sept. 16 editorial, "How cowardly can Greg Abbott be? He just showed us in George Floyd case."

How cowardly can Gov. Greg Abbott get?

He showed us on Thursday. The state parole board finally rejected a posthumous pardon for George Floyd’s questionable 2004 drug conviction after months of uncertainty that wreaked of politics.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, not known to be a warm, fuzzy, compassionate entity, raised eyebrows in 2021 when it recommended that Abbott grant the posthumous pardon for Floyd, and then raised suspicions by abruptly rescinding it.

How did we get here?

The board’s vote to pardon Floyd had been unanimous. All that was left was Abbott’s approval, which he said he’d consider, before he suddenly went silent as the matter stalled. When the board took back its recommendation two months later, there was little explanation other than a procedural error that affected Floyd’s and 24 other requests.

Regardless, the decision had the desired consequence: Abbott, who is up for re-election and vying to be considered as a 2024 presidential contender, no longer had to make the tough choice between partisanship or justice.

— Houston Chronicle Editorial Board

San Antonio Express-News

Sept. 20 editorial, "Paxton intensifies election threat."

SAN ANTONIO — Last month, Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a legal opinion, the intent and consequence of which is all but certain to wreak havoc in county election offices across Texas in November. Allowing anyone to have access to ballots almost as soon as they’re counted will threaten the security of elections across the state.

In the press release accompanying his decision, Paxton tells Texans they deserve leaders “who work tirelessly to promote transparency in government and integrity in our elections.” He promises his office will continue to “lead from the front in the battle for election integrity, and we won’t back down until our elections are completely and totally secure.”

Boasts about transparency and integrity are curious coming from an indicted attorney general who has been accused by former staffers of corruption for which he’s reportedly under FBI investigation. Paxton is also being sued by the Texas State Bar for professional misconduct for filing a ridiculous lawsuit challenging the 2020 election results in four states to benefit former President Donald Trump, who espouses the Big Lie that the presidential election was stolen.

By federal law — Section 301 of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 — ballots must be kept secure for 22 months after an election. The process begins with ballots kept in lockboxes for 60 days before they’re transferred to another secure facility. The purpose is to preserve the integrity of the ballots in the event of recounts and challenges. Texas has always complied with that law, but Paxton’s legal opinion makes ballots a kind of community property, access to which any individual or organization can request after they’ve been counted.

A waiting period of 22 months has been arbitrarily slashed to as little as a day by Paxton, who sought the guidance of the secretary of state’s office, which recommended continued compliance with the existing waiting period. Paxton not only ignored that advice but went against his own. Votebeat , a nonpartisan news organization covering elections, reported that as recently as five days before issuing his Aug. 17 opinion, Paxton advised counties to stay with the 22-month waiting period.

Disrupting this chain of custody of the ballots will create chaos and put in dispute the results of elections, especially close ones — such as the one Paxton is in with Rochelle Garza, his Democratic challenger.

— San Antonio Express-News Editorial Board

Dallas Morning News

Sept. 19 editorial, "Ken Paxton’s delayed deposition another shady break from a Texas court."

Ken Paxton must be the luckiest man in Texas. That, or there is something broken about the judicial system in this state.

Even as the attorney general’s 7-year-old securities fraud charges fester in criminal courts, a separate fraud lawsuit could have compelled Paxton to answer questions about the criminal case under oath. The two men who originally accused Paxton of defrauding them have tried for a good part of this year to get Paxton to sit down for a deposition in this civil case.

Paxton, who maintains he’s innocent, dodged and dodged a deposition date. And now, our colleague Lauren McGaughy reports that state District Judge Cynthia Wheless, in Paxton’s home of Collin County, has scheduled the attorney general to give his deposition almost a month after Election Day.

How many more slaps in the face must the electorate endure from Paxton and the courts? This is the second election cycle in which voters will decide whether to return Paxton to his seat with unresolved fraud allegations hanging over him.

— Dallas Morning News Editorial Board

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Sept. 21 editorial, "Ken Paxton once again sticks his nose where it doesn’t belong on behalf of Donald Trump."

Attorney General Ken Paxton doesn’t always do right by Texas, but never question his loyalty to one man: Donald Trump.

Paxton showed it again Tuesday, rushing to weigh in on Trump’s battle over classified documents seized at his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago. The former president is fighting the Justice Department over whether an independent “special master” should review the documents at issue.

In a certain sense, it’s a classic Paxton case — there’s no interest or standing for the state of Texas and no particular insight or argument Paxton can bring to it. And the 21-page submission to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reads like it.

The state’s brief reads like a greatest hits list of diversions, distractions and irrelevancies. Paxton, writing on behalf of 10 other states who should also examine whether their AGs have enough real work to do, blasts the Biden administration on everything from immigration to the attempt to impose a COVID vaccine mandate on employers.

If you’re looking for a sharp takedown of Vice President Kamala Harris for her statement that the southern border is secure, you’ll find it in Paxton’s op-ed — er, sorry, legal brief. But if you’re interested in substantive discussion of the matter at hand, move on.

— Fort Worth Star-Telegram Editorial Board

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Commentary roundup: What newspapers around the state are saying