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Gov. Greg Abbott offered a curt remark to a professor from Del Mar College in Corpus Christi who said he would offer extra credit to students that vote in the upcoming elections, and suggested that Texans back Beto O'Rourke.

"People like this don't belong on the state payroll," wrote Abbott of the Del Mar Political Science professor, Adrian Clark.

Sometime this week, a screenshot of the professor's Facebook comment was shared with KRIS 6 News, reading: "I am offering extra credit for my students for voting beginning tomorrow! We must show up for Beto to paint Texas blue!"

On Wednesday, a Del Mar spokesperson issued the following statement:

"The College is aware of a post made by an employee on a non-College, social media site offering extra class credit for voting in the upcoming election. The message was not posted on behalf of the College. The College has clarified that no extra credit should be offered or granted for voting in any election."

"The College takes seriously institutional policy and State law regarding requirements to remain neutral in all partisan political activities, issues, speeches and campaigns. The College and its employees will abide by all state, local, and federal laws regarding public speech, campaigning, and other political activities. Additionally, the College does not comment on internal personnel matters"

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In addition, the college said it was aware of Abbott's comments and said the school's administration was taking it seriously and "attempting to factor that in when considering how best to respond."

Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor with the Universty of Houston, said there's little room for interpretation when it comes to the incident.

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"It's wildly inappropriate for faculty to be using their platform to endorse a particular candidate. Period," Rottinghaus said.

He said a "criminal side" could also be interpreted regarding the Facebook post.

"You cannot pay people to go vote, using extra credit as leverage could be potentially illegal, depending on how its framed," he said. "I don't want to go too far, I don't know the language, but you can't go pay people to vote, whether this constitutes as bribery or in this case academic."

Fernando Ramirez is a digital reporter for Chron.com and Houstonchronicle.com. Read him on our breaking news site and on our subscriber site. Follow him on Twitter at @fernramirez93 or email him at Fernando.ramirez@chron.com.