In vague statement, Paxton says he is investigating potentially illegal voter registration

AUSTIN — Attorney General Ken Paxton said his office is investigating reports that unnamed organizations may be illegally registering noncitizens to vote outside driver’s license offices — an announcement that drew skeptical responses from Democrats and the ACLU of Texas.
Paxton announced the investigation Wednesday, saying undercover operations had begun, and will continue, into the reports of illegal activity.
The vaguely worded announcement mentioned nothing about what undercover investigators found beyond noting the agency’s Election Integrity Unit confirmed “various nonprofit organizations” were operating booths outside of Department of Public Safety driver’s license offices to offer help registering to vote.
Such offers appeared suspicious to Paxton and his agency, which noted “all citizens” already have an opportunity to register to vote when they renew or get a state ID card or driver’s license.
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“If you don’t have the ability to register inside a DPS office, it’s because you’re not supposed to register to vote because you’re not legal,” Paxton told Newsmax’s Chris Salcedo on Wednesday. “So why would these organizations be on DPS property registering people to vote unless they’re registering people that are here illegally? Doesn’t make sense.”
Spokespeople for Paxton did not respond to three emails seeking information about the undercover investigations and when they began. A follow-up voicemail and three more emails seeking clarity on what prompted the investigation and what it’s found so far also went unreturned.
The root of the probe appears to be a weekend post of unverified secondhand information shared by Fox Business Network anchor Maria Bartiromo. Relaying a message from a friend, Bartiromo’s post on X said a mother and her 16-year-old son visited three Department of Motor Vehicle sites in North Texas in search of shorter lines.
“First DMV was in Weatherford. Had a massive line of immigrants getting licenses and had a tent and table outside the front door of the DMV registering them to vote!” the post said. “Second one was in Fort Worth with same lines and same Dems out front. Third one was in North Fort Worth had no lines but had same voter registration drive.”
Two days before Paxton announced the investigation, another Republican official had publicly labeled Bartiromo’s allegations “erroneous.”
Brady Gray, chairman of the Republican Party in Parker County — which includes Weatherford — said a party investigation found no evidence of illegal registrations.
“Not only have there been no recent instances of ineligible individuals attempting to register in Parker County, there have only been two in the last 15 years,” he wrote Monday evening on X. “The DPS office has confirmed that there have been no tents or tables and no one registering voters on their premises, and that if it were the case they would be told to leave, as it is not allowed.”
Gray said Bartiromo’s message “seemed strange from the onset” but emphasized that he takes every claim of election fraud or interference seriously and encouraged citizens to “stay vigilant.”
Gray did not return a phone call or respond to an email seeking comment.
Ashley Harris, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, called Paxton’s announcement another example of voter intimidation “by unnecessarily stirring fear about routine voter registration.”
“This is an example of the attorney general’s office wasting taxpayer dollars on a baseless publicity stunt leading up to the election when we should instead be emphasizing that eligible voters should feel confident and safe in exercising their right to vote,” Harris said.
Democrats also panned Paxton’s investigation.
“Breaking: Corrupt Texas AG Ken Paxton continues to bash immigrants and waste our time, launching an investigation based off unsubstantiated texts from a Fox News personality,” state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, wrote on X.
State Rep. Erin Zwiener, D-Driftwood, questioned Paxton’s motives, saying a GOP super PAC collected voter information and “selectively” registered voters “who agreed with them on key issues outside DPS offices in 2019.”
“For some reason, AG Paxton didn’t think that was worthy of investigation then,” she said online, adding a thinking-face emoji.
In a Jeopardy-style tweet disputing that noncitizens are being registered to vote, Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, quipped, “Alex, I’ll take things that never happened for $200.”
Gov. Greg Abbott credited Paxton with “thoroughly investigating” the allegations. “We won’t let cheaters influence elections in Texas,” Abbott added.
The Texas Republican Party thanked the attorney general “for working to secure Texas elections.”
It is illegal for noncitizens to vote. Lying about citizenship to register — or helping someone do so — is punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a $10,000 fine. Illegally casting a ballot in Texas or helping someone vote who is not a U.S. citizen and Texas resident is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.