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In the lawsuit, Paxton claims that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has failed in its duty to assist states in verifying the citizenship status of registered voters. He argues that the federal government is obligated to provide this assistance.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has intensified his efforts to uncover noncitizen voters just days before the upcoming election and on the heels of the commencement of early voting in Texas.
Paxton has been urging Texas Secretary of State Janet Nelson to seek assistance from the federal government in obtaining data that could be utilized to verify the accuracy of the state’s voter rolls.
According to Ur M. Jaddou, the director of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program, the program is highly secure and efficient in verifying an individual’s citizenship or immigration status.
This includes the verification needed for voter registration and voter list maintenance. Jaddou mentioned in a letter to Nelson that the agency does not currently have an alternative process to offer to any state.
The Department of Homeland Security has yet to respond to a request for comment.
Paxton, along with Republicans across the nation led by former President Donald Trump, have consistently brought up and utilized unverified concerns about noncitizen voting in order to question the credibility of the election.
Noncitizen voting is against federal and state laws. According to experts, instances of noncitizen voting are extremely rare, and there is no evidence to suggest that it has any impact on election results.
Nelson proceeded to disclose the voter records of individuals who lack a Texas driver’s license or identification card number in the statewide voter registration system. She emphasized that these records should not be viewed as a list of potential non-United States citizens on the State’s voter rolls.
Paxton, however, suggested that the state lacks the means to determine whether any registered voters are noncitizens and, therefore, ineligible.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton criticized the Biden-Harris Administration for failing to adhere to federal law, which poses a new challenge for Texas in its efforts to ensure fair and unrestricted elections. Paxton expressed his concerns on Tuesday, highlighting the administration’s refusal to comply with legal requirements.
Democrats have voiced their criticism of the state GOP’s recent efforts to crack down on noncitizen voting. They argue that these measures may be perceived as voter intimidation and could potentially suppress eligible voters. Additionally, they express concerns that such actions could undermine public confidence in election results.
In late August, Governor Greg Abbott proudly announced that over 1 million ineligible voters had been removed from the state’s rolls, with 6,500 of them being noncitizens. This has further fueled the unproven claims made by Republicans that noncitizens are planning to vote in large numbers to influence the election in favor of the Democrats.