Texas GOP Gov. Abbott to deploy 1,000 National Guard troops for election

Texas GOP Gov. Abbott to deploy 1,000 National Guard troops for election
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, photo via Screengrab.
David Badash
and
The New Civil Rights Movement
October 27, 2020Bank

In a disturbing and possibly unprecedented move Republican Governor Greg Abbott will deploy 1000 National Guard troops into Texas cities for the presidential election next week.

"The Texas Army National Guard said Monday it had been ordered to dispatch 1,000 troops to five major cities around the state in conjunction with the Nov. 3 election," MySanAntonio.com reports.

"The guard in recent weeks had told the San Antonio Express-News that its commander, Maj. Gen. Tracy Norris, had been asked to draft contingency plans in case of trouble at polling places in major cities around the state."

Express-News reports Democratic "strongholds" will be receiving the Guard units, including San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Dallas, and Fort Worth.

"We have not been asked to go to any polling locations as of yet. Now that could change, leading up to the election or after the election," a Texas Army National Guard spokesperson says.

Abbott has not released any information on this plan which some see as authoritarian voter intimidation.

The Texas governor is already under fire after reducing ballot boxes to just one per county.

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