HOUSTON – With Election Day just months away, the Texas Attorney General announced he is cracking down on claims of illegal voter registration.
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In a press release, Ken Paxton says his office has opened an investigation following reports that organizations in Texas “may be unlawfully registering noncitizens to vote” outside driver’s license offices.
The release does not specify which organizations but claims the investigation has “already confirmed that various nonprofit organizations” outside the DPS offices are operating booths to assist in voter registration for patrons. Likewise, the undercover operations are being conducted in what was only described as “throughout major metropolitan areas of Texas.”
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However, the release notes there’s already a system in place to present patrons to register to vote as part of the process when getting or renewing a license. So it seems pointless, he argues, to have a booth outside.
“Texans are deeply troubled by the possibility that organizations purporting to assist with voter registration are illegally registering noncitizens to vote in our elections,” Paxton said in the press statement. “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?”
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Lying about citizenship when registering to vote or helping someone in Texas is a crime punishable by up to two years in state jail and a $10,000 fine. It is also a crime to vote if you are not a U.S. Citizen or Texas resident in Texas. Doing so can result in a 20-year prison sentence as well as a $10,00 fine.
“My office is investigating every credible report we receive regarding potential criminal activity that could compromise the integrity of our elections,” Paxton added. “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.”
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Groups like the American Civil Liberties Union called the latest move by the AG’s office another example of Paxton’s long history of voter intimidation.
“The attorney general is pointing to something that it’s not clear even happened at all, that anyone was doing any voter registration,” Ashley Harris, an attorney for ACLU - Texas told KPRC 2 in an interview. “And because his office has a history of over-inflating things and looking to just stoke fear where nothing has even really happened, it’s unclear that anything has happened besides pointing fingers at the idea of voter registration by volunteers.”
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Meanwhile, lawmakers in Texas like Rep. Armando Walle, told KPRC 2 in a statement that Paxton should focus on other priorities.
“I wish our indicted attorney general would spend our taxpayer dollars helping lawful voters maintain their status given the over two million Texans currently on the suspension list instead of going after legally operating nonprofit organizations.”
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Republican strategists like Vlad Davidiuk, on the other hand, say the investigation should still be a deep concern to voters.
“Every single Texan deserves the right to know that their ballot is safe, secure, and will be counted,” he explained. “And so for a Texas attorney general to release, news that there is an investigation, discussing potential election, integrity violations, which would include, registering people who are not authorized to vote, to participate in our elections is deeply concerning.”
“Getting registered to vote is a privilege,” Davidiuk added. “And is one that should be taken with, a great deal of responsibility and seriousness. It should be done legally. It should be done properly. And it should be done in accordance with all regulations and, and the laws that have been prescribed. So to have outside groups that are coming in, and potentially defrauding citizens and disenfranchising them of their right to vote and bringing in unlawful voters, and registering them, presents a deep concern for every Texan when it comes to voter integrity.”
KPRC 2 has reached out to the Texas DPS to learn more but has not heard back as of this writing.