Greg Abbott is currently in India celebrating India as a constitutional republic. The Texas Constitution clearly states that when the governor is out of the country the lieutenant governor becomes the acting governor. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick is the Acting Governor of Texas during this civil war border crisis. In 2020, Dan Patrick referred to vote-by-mail expansion efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic as a "scam by Democrats to steal the election." During the pandemic, Dan Patrick worked to increase access to hydroxychloroquine. After Joe Biden cheated in the 2020 election and Trump called out election fraud, Patrick backed Trump as he refused to concede. In October 2021, Patrick paid the first reward of $25,000 to a Pennsylvania poll worker who reported a man that voted twice.