AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Texas’ election chief has apologized for releasing a botched list of 95,000 voters whose citizenship was called into question before being fully vetted.
Texas Secretary of State David Whitley previously refused to acknowledge mistakes in the three weeks since his office gave prosecutors a voter list that included tens of thousands of U.S. citizens who were wrongly flagged .
But in a letter to lawmakers Wednesday, Whitley said “more time should have been devoted” to vetting the names. President Donald Trump seized on the reports out of Texas to renew unsubstantiated claims of rampant voter fraud.
The letter comes as Whitley’s nomination is in jeopardy. He was appointed by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott but is still awaiting Senate confirmation.
The letter was first reported by the Texas Tribune.
