Texas' top election official resigns, GOP Gov. Abbott swiftly names replacement

Texas Secretary of State John Scott has announced his resignation after what he called a "successful" 2022 General Election, which followed a rocky primary in which counties threw out nearly 23,000 mail ballots as a result of voters' struggling to navigate new mail-in voting requirements.

"With a successful 2022 General Election in the rear view mirror ... I write to inform you that I intend to return to my private law practice at the beginning of the New Year," Scott said Monday, making his resignation effective on Dec. 31, 2022.

Republicans passed a sweeping new voting law just weeks before Scott's Oct. 2021 appointment. Scott faced immediate scrutiny for having been briefly part of former President Trump’s legal team that challenged the results of the 2020 election, though Scott said he never dispute Democrat Joe Biden was the winner, according to the Associated Press. 

Scott also said he's retiring amid a soon-to-be-released audit of the state's 2020 election results, but it's unclear whether the findings will be made public before he officially leaves office. 

Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott, who appointed Scott announced Tuesday that he plans on filling the open position with state Sen. Jane Nelson, a Republican who decided to not run for reelection this year after serving in the Texas Senate for 30 years.