6 Things SD 14 delegates need to know about Laura Pressley

6 Things to Know About Laura Pressley

By Carla Birk, Travis County Republican activist

Dr. Laura Pressley is running to be the SD 14 SREC representative of the Republican Party of Texas.  Here are some important things for RPT convention delegates to know.

1.        Prior to 2016 Pressley was affiliated with the Democrat Party and related groups

•  Voted in the Democrat Primary in 2008, 2012, 2014
•  Donated to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and others
• Donated to Capital Area Democratic Women in 2014 
• Attended the Texas Democratic Women's convention in 2012 (ActBlue donation)
• Donated to Moveon.org
• Donated to the Democratic National Committee
• Donated to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
• Had a campaign treasurer who was a 2016 delegate to the Democratic National Convention
• Joined the Republican Party in 2016 amidst her failing legal battle to vigorously fundraise for herself, sow distrust in electronic voting systems, and promote paper based solutions (causes she was already involved in with leftist groups prior to 2016.)

In 2014 TCRP posted city candidates’ voting records on its website showing Pressley’s Democrat voting history:  https://sites.google.com/site/travisgop/archives/austin-city-council-voting-history. 

In 2016 a skeptical Republican investigated Pressley’s background and posted research about it:  -- http://www.texastrashtalk.com/2016/07/fact-checking-dr-laura-pressleys-texas.html?m=1.

2.       Electronic vote tampering is the latest of many conspiracy theories promoted by Pressley.  Days prior to the 2014 election The Austin Chronicle ran a report about Pressley’s unusual views on “9/11 Truth”, fluoride in the water supply, and smart meters.  The article caused the Austin American Statesman to withdraw its endorsement of her.  A 2014 KUT post discusses it here with links to the original story and videos of Pressley:  http://kut.org/post/district-4-council-candidate-laura-pressleys-views-include-911-conspiracy.  

(Pressley’s ally and candidate for SD 14 SREC male representative Lynn Foster is a fellow “9/11 Truther”.  In 2016 Foster voiced support for Robert Morrow at a Central Texas Republican Assembly meeting shortly after Morrow was elected as TCRP Chairman and opposed a resolution calling on the TCRP Executive Committee to limit Morrow's powers.  Robert Morrow is best known as the promoter of political conspiracy theories including the role of LBJ in the Kennedy assassination and many other salacious claims regarding prominent politicians.)

3.      Pressley has been aggressively fundraising with Republican audiences, who are predisposed to distrust the Democrat-run Travis County Elections Division.  She has significant financial incentives to promote her views.  As of late 2016 Pressley’s legal fees were estimated at $215,000 according to an article in the Austin American Statesman.  The fees include a $100,000 penalty against Pressley and her attorney for pursuing unfounded claims.   Articles discussing Pressley’s loses and sanctions can be seen at the following:  http://www.statesman.com/news/local/new-details-laura-pressley-appeals-2014-election-challenge-texas-supreme-court/sZ98yhqxjgIPsPblJeFKOL/ and http://www.mystatesman.com/news/local/judge-rules-against-austin-city-council-candidate-laura-pressley/bE5MiRSGdIWwFdC14P11wK/#ba303460.3594764.735795.

4.       Both the lower court and appellate court found Pressley’s claims of election violations to be unfounded.  The three judge panel of Justices Goodwin, Fields, and Puryear (all Republicans) upheld the lower court ruling at the Third Court of Appeals stating:

 “Pressley repeatedly filed unsupported and untrue claims of voter disenfranchisement, election and recount irregularities and mistakes, and criminal violations by election officials. The trial court was within its discretion to sanction Pressley for repeatedly pleading these unsupported and untrue claims.”

“To bolster her contest, Pressley repeatedly filed unsupported allegations of voter disenfranchisement, election irregularities and mistakes, and criminal misconduct by election officials. Even after a manual recount and audit confirmed the absence of any problems, Pressley still repeatedly pleaded otherwise. The trial court was within its discretion in awarding Chapter 10 sanctions against Pressley and her lawyer for doing so.”

Quotation source document:  http://www.search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=c2bb1232-af9a-411d-889a-86cfd0cd931a&coa=cossup&DT=BRIEFS&MediaID=19db2fc5-3729-4bcd-b355-6f16c52c942a

5.       Pressley’s case at the Texas Supreme Court only addresses a very, narrow issue regarding “numbered ballots” for electronic voting.  No court has found merit in her claims that results were altered.  The Texas Association of Counties issued a brief in May 2018 siding with her opponent, Gregorio Casar.  Pressley has been granted several extensions.  Information about the case can be found here:  http://www.search.txcourts.gov/Case.aspx?cn=17-0052&coa=cossup.    

6.       Since 2016 Pressley has been pushing hard for the Republican Party of Texas to adopt the paper ballot agenda.  Travis County is already in the process of implementing a paper based ballot system for 2019.  She is not leading a fight against the Democrats, but rather drawing Republicans over to the Democrats’ position.  According to a 2016 article by a True The Vote activist, Pressley has close ties with VoteRescue, a group that was founded in 2005 in Austin with a mission to return to paper balloting.  The founder and members of VoteRescue donated to Pressley’s campaign, served on her recount team, and donated to her lawsuit.  In a 2014 interview her attorney indicated ties to VoteRescue dating back to 2006.   To read more about VoteRescue, related leftist groups, and its connections to Pressley’s campaign and lawsuits see the last section of the article here:  http://www.texastrashtalk.com/2016/07/fact-checking-dr-laura-pressleys-texas.html?m=1 

 About the author:  Carla Birk is a Republican activist in Travis County.  She served three terms as a precinct chairman.  She worked as the Primary Elections Assistant Administrator for Travis County Republican Party in 2012, 2016, and 2018 where she has recruited and spoken with hundreds of election workers about their experiences.  She has served for almost ten years in every election work position including precinct election judge, poll watcher, Early Voting Ballot Board (EVBB) member, and TCRP’s Alternate Presiding Judge at EVBB and the Central Receiving Station.  She served in two terms training precinct chairs in election work and organizing.  She is a current member of NW Austin Republican Women (a TFRW club), North Austin Republicans, and Central Texas Republican Assembly.  She has helped with many GOTV campaigns including TCRP HD 48 lead for Dan Neil, the Cruz Crew, and currently Abbott U.  She was a member of the RPT  S.T.A.T. team in the 2017 legislative session.