The head of the Department of Public Safety, Steve McCraw, announced he will retire at the end of the year. His department is currently caught up in an investigation by the attorney general’s office over voter registration drives.
McCraw shared the news at a DPS graduation ceremony on Friday morning in Austin.
“It’s an easy thing to do because I know that Governor Greg Abbott will ensure that my replacement is as good and likely better than I am at this particular job,” said McCraw.
The announcement comes after it was reported that leftwing non-profits were registering non-citizens to vote outside of DPS locations.
Attorney General Ken Paxton announced his office had launched a full-scale investigation into these activities earlier this week. In the press release announcing the effort, Paxton noted, “It is a crime to vote—or to register to vote—if you are not a United States Citizen.”
According to the release, undercover evidence of these activities occurring at multiple locations has already been collected. After Paxton’s announcement, Gov. Greg Abbott said, “Texas wouldn’t let cheaters influence Texas elections.”
Amid this flurry of attention, McCraw emailed instructions to “temporarily” stop allowing the organizations to register on DPS property. A source within DPS confidentially revealed to Texas Scorecard that groups were tacitly allowed to register voters outside of DPS locations despite voter registration being intertwined with applying for or renewing a driver’s license under a 1993 federal law.
While it isn’t clear what McCraw knew and when, there was unrest within DPS over the voter registration activities of outside groups on DPS property.
Since citizens are asked when applying for a driver’s license if they would like to register to vote as required under the 1993 Motor Voter Act, voter registration on DPS grounds is superfluous. The apparent aim of these operations is to register legal non-citizens who can obtain IDs but are not allowed to register to vote.
McCraw has been the head of DPS since 2009.
His law enforcement career began with a five-year stint in DPS from 1977 to 1983, as a Trooper in the Texas Highway Patrol division. In 1983, he became an FBI Special Agent, serving in multiple roles and offices before retiring in 2004 to become the Texas Homeland Security Director under former Gov. Rick Perry.
Let us know if you have a tip about suspected illegal voter registration efforts in your city or county at tips@texasscorecard.com.
