Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is looking into reports that some Texas organizations might be breaking the law by registering noncitizens to vote, according to a press release.
Paxton’s Election Integrity Unit has been operating undercover to investigate the allegations. The investigation concluded that the alleged nonprofit organizations have been hosting booths outside DPS offices across Texas to help people with voter registration.
Investigators questioned the need for an outside booth for voter registration, as citizens can register to vote when getting an ID or driver’s license inside the DPS.
The Attorney General stated, “Texans are deeply troubled by the possibility that organizations purporting to assist with voter registration are illegally registering noncitizens to vote in our elections. If eligible citizens can legally register to vote when conducting their business at a DPS office, why would they need a second opportunity to register with a booth outside? My office is investigating every credible report we receive regarding potential criminal activity that could compromise the integrity of our elections. The Biden-Harris Administration has intentionally flooded our country with illegal aliens, and without proper safeguards, foreign nationals can illegally influence elections at the local, state, and national level. It is a crime to vote—or to register to vote—if you are not a United States Citizen. Any wrongdoing will be punished to the fullest extent of the law.”
Since the press release, one of the alleged organizations in the report, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), told media outlets that their offices and residences were raided by Texas authorities. Some of the organizations’ members said their personal belongings, such as laptops and cellphones, were confiscated.
Known as the oldest and largest Latino civil rights group in the nation, LULAC is calling on the Department of Justice to investigate the recent raids and search warrants from the AG’s office. The group’s leaders are accusing Paxton of conducting “political intimidation” and “voter suppression.”
According to the release, the Texas AG’s investigation is focusing on the citizenship of people who LULAC and other organizations are helping with voter registration. It is illegal to help someone lie about citizenship during voter registration. Non-Texas residents are also not allowed to vote in the state. The penalties for assisting noncitizens and non-Texas residents to vote include being sentenced from two to 20 years in jail and paying up to a $10,000 fine.
On Monday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott posted on social media platform X that the state had conducted an audit of voter records in the past three years. The audit found over 1 million ineligible voters, among which almost half passed away, as well as about 6,500 noncitizens who registered to vote.
The governor went on to state in the same post, “Election integrity is essential to our democracy. Texas’ strong election laws removed over 1 MILLION ineligible voters from our voter rolls. We continue to safeguard Texans’ right to vote while also protecting our elections from illegal voting.“
