On Wednesday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that his office would be investigating organizations that might be assisting illegal immigrants to unlawfully register to vote in the Lone Star State.
The X Post
The announcement comes after Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo reported “a massive line of immigrants” outside Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) offices in Weatherford and Fort Worth at tents for voter registration. Paxton’s office did not reference Bartiromo’s report in the announcement, however.
The Attorney General’s Announcement
Said Paxton in his press release:
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 [Department of Public Safety] 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,” he concluded.
Criticism of Paxton
Some think Paxton’s saying a booth being unnecessary outside an office where people can register to vote misses the mark.
“DPS is not a well-oiled machine known for doing their job really, really well in Texas,” said Anthony Gutierrez, executive director of Common Cause Texas, a voter advocacy group:
The idea that organizations doing voter registration outside DPS are doing something wrong is just faulty on its face. They’re just registering people to vote where they think people are who may not be registered.
In Texas, noncitizen voting is a second-degree felony under the provisions of a 2021 law signed by Governor Greg Abbott.
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, a spokesperson for the Texas DPS, William Lockridge, called Bartiromo’s Fox News report about the registration tent outside the DPS facility “simply false.”
“None of it is true,” he said, noting that the accusations were “kind of racist.” “Just because these people aren’t white, that doesn’t mean they’re illegal,” he added.
Republicans in the state don’t believe that Bartiromo’s X post is the only thing driving the investigation.
“I have no information on that, but I would not assume out of the gate that the only thing the Attorney General has is a claim from a Fox News host,” said Brady Gray, a Republican Party chair in Parker County.
Paxton’s announcement notes that the investigation is already underway. “Operations have been conducted throughout major metropolitan areas of Texas and are ongoing.”
