Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has called for the State House of Representatives to pass legislation that would allow him to prosecute voter fraud when local officials refuse to do so.
Paxton cited a 2021 decision by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to overturn a law that allowed the attorney general to unilaterally prosecute election cases, instead ruling that a district or county attorney must invite him to work on the case.
The attorney general has taken a strong stance against this decision while calling for the legislature, with his office writing in a news release that it “opened the door for abuse throughout the state.”
Paxton also released a statement, writing that “the system is broken” if the attorney general is not permitted to prosecute voter fraud when local district and county attorneys choose not to.
“We’re talking about one of the most fundamental rights we have as Americans—the right to vote. This legislation gives Texas the legal tools to protect the ballot box,” he added.
“Secure elections are the foundation of our system of government, but if a rogue district or county attorney ignores clear evidence of voter fraud, there’s nothing we can do about it.”
This news release continued by pointing out the issues preventing Paxton from prosecuting voter fraud, noting that one corrupt official could allow voter fraud to persist within a county.
Additionally, Paxton noted how local officials could be involved in deep schemes to plan voter fraud, noting that attorney general resources could be required to truly uncover the full depth of the alleged crimes.
“Concurring with the Senate Substitute for HB 5138 is the best opportunity to provide meaningful reform so that Texans can have full confidence in the integrity of their elections,” concluded the release.
This information from Paxton’s office comes as the Lone Star State continues to evaluate ways to improve voter integrity, including the potential for allowing only U.S. citizens to vote in state elections, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
These concerts have also spilled into Dallas within recent months, with Former Texas House of Representatives candidate Barry Wernick filing a complaint against the Dallas County Elections Department.
Wenrick alleged that Dallas County’s “sample ballots” were not actually samples but the real ballots being used in the election, which included both candidate names and Dallas Elections Administrator Heider Garcia’s signature, as reported by DX.
