Texas AG Paxton launches investigation into reports of organizations illegally registering non-citizens to vote

The attorney general of Texas announced an investigation into reports that non-citizens were being illegally registered to vote.

'It is a crime to vote—or to register to vote—if you are not a United States Citizen.'

"Texans are deeply troubled by the possibility that organizations purporting to assist with voter registration are illegally registering noncitizens to vote in our elections," said Attorney General Ken Paxton in a statement Wednesday.

"My office is investigating every credible report we receive regarding potential criminal activity that could compromise the integrity of our elections," he added.

Paxton went on to criticize the Biden-Harris administration over its failure to secure the border.

"The Biden-Harris Administration has intentionally flooded our country with illegal aliens, and without proper safeguards, foreign nationals can illegally influence elections at the local, state, and national level," he claimed.

Paxton may have been referring to a report made by Maria Bartiromo of Fox News that immigrants were lined up outside of DMV offices and getting registered to vote at a table and tents outside of the offices. She did not say they were illegal aliens, but many on social media took that to be her meaning.

In his statement, the attorney general referred to the booths outside government offices.

"If eligible citizens can legally register to vote when conducting their business at a DPS office, why would they need a second opportunity to register with a booth outside?" he asked rhetorically.

A spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety said the claims were "simply false" in a statement to the Star-Telegram.

“Contrary to Bartiromo’s friend’s wife’s account, there is no office for the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles in Weatherford. Folks there get their licenses at a DPS Driver License office," said Sgt. William Lockridge.

“None of it is true,” he added. He went on to say the report was "kind of racist" because he reasoned that, “Just because these people aren’t white, that doesn’t mean they’re illegal.”

In May, Paxton filed a lawsuit against an organization for allegedly engaging in "human smuggling" by shielding illegal aliens from law enforcement agencies. The group denied the accusations and said his claims were "illegal, immoral and anti-faith."

A coalition of 24 states, including Texas, filed a brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to protect elections from non-citizens voting by supporting an Arizona law that required voters to show proof of citizenship.

"It is a crime to vote—or to register to vote—if you are not a United States Citizen. Any wrongdoing will be punished to the fullest extent of the law," Paxton concluded in his statement.

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