Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit Tuesday, accusing the Biden administration of failing to help Texas verify the citizenship status of its voters—a move he claims is required by federal law.
Paxton had already asked Secretary of State Jane Nelson to request federal data to weed out any ineligible voters. Nelson followed through, but the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) simply referred her to its Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program, The Texas Tribune reports.
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Now, with election day just around the corner, Paxton is ramping up the pressure. His lawsuit says the DHS hasn't done enough to help Texas keep its voter rolls accurate, even though he admits noncitizen voting is illegal—and incredibly rare. Paxton also took a swipe at the SAVE program, saying it falls short when it comes to confirming someone's citizenship.
This latest legal push is part of a broader effort by Paxton to target noncitizen voters, and it's not happening in a vacuum. The Texas Senate has been debating a new law that would require people to show proof of citizenship, like a Texas ID or passport, to register to vote.
The conversation picked up steam after Gov. Greg Abbott's claim that the state had removed over 6,500 potential noncitizens from voter rolls. But investigative reports by The Texas Tribune, ProPublica, and Votebeat suggest that number might be "likely inflated."
In fact, a report that came to light through those investigations shows that only 581 noncitizens were confirmed between September 2021 and August 2024.
Still, concerns about noncitizen voting continue to swirl among Paxton and other Republicans, even though there's no solid evidence it's swaying election results. The debate over voter rules has even made its way into campaign trail conversations.
During a recent debate, former Rep. Mayra Flores, a Republican running for Texas' 34th Congressional District, said she wouldn't oppose requiring South Texans to carry passports to prove their citizenship.
On the other side of the aisle, Democrats have been vocal in their criticism, calling these efforts a form of voter intimidation that could scare off legitimate voters and damage public confidence in elections.
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