(Texas Scorecard) – Attorney General Ken Paxton is pressing the Biden-Harris administration for access to citizenship data as part of his ongoing efforts to investigate potential noncitizen voters in Texas.
Last month, Paxton sent a letter to Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson, urging her to request assistance from the federal government. Paxton’s concerns center on federal laws he says prevent Texas from effectively confirming the citizenship status of voter registrants.
Paxton argues that these federal restrictions complicate the state’s ability to ensure noncitizens are not voting, which is a violation of the law. He also stressed that the federal government has a duty to assist states in identifying noncitizen voters.
After expressing dissatisfaction with Nelson’s response, Paxton escalated his efforts last week by requesting a list of voters for whom the Secretary of State lacks a Texas-issued driver’s license or identification card number.
Now, Paxton is directly appealing to the federal government for the necessary data to verify voter rolls, insisting that the Biden-Harris administration comply with its legal obligations.
“I demand full cooperation from the federal government to ensure that any noncitizens remaining on Texas’s voter registration rolls are identified,” said Paxton. “The Biden-Harris Administration is legally obligated to assist states in doing so, and it is imperative that we use every tool available to uphold the integrity of our elections.”
Paxton issued his demands in a letter to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Ur M. Jaddou.