Voter suppression claims emerge in McKinney recall petition drive

Accusations of voter suppression have emerged in the recall election petition drive targeting McKinney's mayor and three City Council members.

Organizers of the petition drive say some residents are afraid to sign for fear of retaliation.

John Aselton has already amassed hundreds of signatures from McKinney residents in support of a recall election for the mayor and three City Council members.

Aselton says he should have more, but he's receiving emails from residents, like one person who declined to sign over alleged "doxxing of and threats to signers."

"I think that it's an attempt to interfere and suppress," Aselton said. "I think ultimately, it will not work."

Aselton says opponents are threatening to release the names of petition signers. He points to a post from former McKinney Mayor George Fuller, who opposes the recall, which says that when the petition is filed, it "...is available for lawful disclosure and will be published, and the petition includes the names and addresses of every person who signed it."

The former mayor defends his post.

"I've heard a lot of versions of what I said," Fuller said. "Luckily, of course, what I said is in writing, and very simply, I stated that a political effort like a recall petition is public record, plain and simple.

The recall petition drive began after the City Council approved plans for a mosque to expand and build on its current property.

Organizers insist that is only one of several issues, including the expansion of the airport and the planned Highway 380 bypass. They say opponents are trying to portray the effort as an anti-Muslim campaign.

But Fuller says the mosque issue is the sole reason for the petition drive.

La'Shadion Shemwell was ousted from the McKinney City Council in 2020 after a recall election and says not to be surprised if this one succeeds.

"This is the chickens coming home to roost," Shemwell said. "You have to be careful what you normalize, and I told them then, when they changed the rules and lowered the threshold, that this was going to set a bad precedent"

Recall organizers say they are confident they can collect the 5,800 signatures they need with 29 days remaining.