Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has requested data from the Biden-Harris administration to help identify potentially half a million people who may be erroneously registered to vote in the state without being citizens. He stated that the administration has legal obligations to provide this information so that Texas can determine the citizenship status of registered voters without state-issued driver’s licenses or identification cards, which are only given to citizens after checks. Non-U.S. citizens can legally apply for driver’s licenses but cannot vote.
Paxton is investigating these registered voters to ensure compliance with federal and state election laws that prohibit non-U.S. citizens from voting. He wrote a letter to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Ur Jaddou, demanding cooperation to identify any noncitizens on Texas’s voter registration rolls. He emphasized the importance of upholding the integrity of elections by using all available tools and legal measures to address illegal voter registration. Paxton highlighted the challenges posed by illegal immigration and the inability of states to require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections.
The attorney general noted that while it is illegal for noncitizens to register to vote, federal law allows opportunities for noncitizens to illegally register while preventing states from requiring proof of citizenship. Paxton mentioned that the Senate has not passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which would allow states to verify voter eligibility. Requiring proof of citizenship is seen as a commonsense measure to prevent illegal registration and maintain the legitimacy of the electoral process. Paxton has a list of over 454,000 registered voters whose citizenship has never been verified, underscoring the importance of addressing potential noncitizen voting.
In his efforts to crack down on non-citizens voting, Paxton’s Election Integrity unit conducted searches in South Texas counties to investigate fraud and ballot harvesting allegations. Governor Greg Abbott announced the removal of 6,500 potential noncitizens from the voter rolls since 2021, with nearly 2,000 having a voter history. Concerns about voter integrity and non-citizens being registered to vote have been raised by Republicans ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Other states, like Oregon, have also found errors on their voter rolls, with hundreds of people identified as potentially not providing proof of citizenship at registration.
The Arizona Supreme Court recently ruled that nearly 98,000 people with unconfirmed U.S. citizenship will be allowed to vote in upcoming state and local elections. These developments underscore the ongoing challenges with voter registration and the need for verification measures to ensure that only eligible voters participate in elections. The actions taken by Paxton and other officials reflect a broader effort to address potential voter fraud and uphold the integrity of the electoral system, particularly in the face of increased scrutiny and concerns about election security.
