Senate Democrats urge DOJ to investigate Texas for potential civil and voting rights violations

AUSTIN, Texas – State Senate Democrats want the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate allegations that the voting rights of Texans have been violated.

Specifically, the 12 lawmakers want the DOJ to focus an investigation on voter registration cancellations, the targeting voter registration organizations, and the targeting non-governmental and non-profit organizations.

“Based on media reports and complaints by fellow Texans, we have serious concerns that some recent actions taken by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and other state leaders may violate federal civil rights and voting laws,” the Senate Democrats say, in a letter to Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general in the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.

“Collectively, these actions have a disproportionate impact on Latinos and other communities of color, which is sowing fear and will suppress voting. We urge the DOJ to investigate Texas for potential violations of the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, the National Voter Registration Act and any other relevant federal laws, and to take all necessary action to protect the fundamental rights of all Texans and ensure all citizens’ freedom to vote is unencumbered.”

The lawmakers include five representing communities along the Texas-Mexico border: César Blanco of El Paso, Judith Zaffirini of Laredo, Roland Gutierrez of San Antonio, Juan Hinojosa of McAllen, and Morgan LaMantia of South Padre Island.

Here is a copy of the letter:

August 30, 2024

Kristen Clarke

Assistant Attorney General

Civil Rights Division

U.S. Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W.

Washington, D.C. 20530

via Ex_DOJCorrespondence@jmd.usdoj.gov

Dear Assistant Attorney General Clarke: 

We respectfully request the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigate allegations of violations of the voting rights of Texans, specifically pertaining to voter registration cancellations, targeting voter registration organizations, and targeting non-governmental and non-profit organizations. Based on media reports and complaints by fellow Texans, we have serious concerns that some recent actions taken by Texas Attorney General (AG) Ken Paxton and other state leaders may violate federal civil rights and voting laws. For your convenience, we are providing the brief overview that follows: 

Voter registration cancellations: On August 26, 2024, the state announced more than one million Texans had been removed from voter rolls since 2021. We strongly support the maintenance of accurate voter registrations, which was already required by various federal and state laws prior to 2021. However, given the large number of voters who have been removed, a lack of transparency as to what records or data were utilized, and the timing of removals, we are concerned that many legitimate voters may have had their registrations cancelled or suspended. 

Texas has a history of flawed attempts to purge voters and suppressing voter participation, thereby necessitating a close examination of the state’s cancellations. Of note, recent statements by the Texas Secretary of State and the Texas Governor indicate these removals or cancellations are ongoing. If that is true, then Texas is in clear violation of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which prohibits cancellations within 90 days of a federal election. Because the presidential and Congressional elections are on November 5, we are well within those 90 days. 

Targeting voter registration organizations: On August 21, 2024, AG Paxton opened an investigation targeting voter registration organizations for allegedly registering non-citizens outside of Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) offices. This investigation was prompted by an August 18, 2024 social media post by a Fox News host claiming organizations were

registering large numbers of non-citizens under a tent outside a DPS office in Weatherford.

As confirmed by DPS, the Parker County Elections Administrator, and the local Republican Party Chair, there was no evidence of any such activity. Despite the debunking of this latest false claim, the AG’s investigation continues. Equally concerning, DPS has now prohibited organizations from registering voters outside their offices, a practice the agency has allowed for decades without issue. 

Voter registration organizations seek to improve civic engagement in a state that has one of the lowest voter turnout rates in the country. Many of them now are concerned they will be the next to be harassed and targeted. The AG’s actions add to an already substantial body of misinformation about voter fraud and non-citizens voting in Texas, furthering distrust in our elections and discouraging Texans from voting. 

Targeting non-governmental and non-profit organizations: During the last two years, the Texas Attorney General has focused increasingly on non-governmental and non-profit organizations whose advocacy and work do not align with his political positions. During the last year, for example, he has attempted to shut down two Catholic organizations in border communities that shelter and support asylum seekers and other immigrants, accusing them of human trafficking and other criminal violations. In July, a state district judge denied the AG’s effort to depose the leadership of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, which had been accused of illegally transporting migrants across the border. Also in July, a federal judge stopped the AG’s attempt to shut down Annunciation House in El Paso, a religious organization that has provided migrants shelter for nearly half a century. The AG reportedly had accused Annunciation House of violating state laws pertaining to human smuggling and operating a stash house. 

What’s more, as reported on August 16, 2024, the AG filed suit to dissolve Familias Inmigrantes y Estudiantes en la Lucha (FIEL), a non-profit that has provided education, social, and legal services to immigrant families in the Houston area since 2007. The AG alleged FIEL is in violation of its 501(c)(3) status because of its advocacy for immigrants and criticisms of state leaders’ anti-immigrant efforts. Relatedly, last week, AG Paxton executed search warrants at the homes of several elderly members of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the largest and oldest Hispanic and Latin American civil rights organization in the United States. 

Collectively, these actions have a disproportionate impact on Latinos and other communities of color, which is sowing fear and will suppress voting. We urge the DOJ to investigate Texas for potential violations of the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, the National Voter Registration Act and any other relevant federal laws, and to take all necessary action to protect the fundamental rights of all Texans and ensure all citizens’ freedom to vote is unencumbered.

Respectfully,

State Sen. Carol Alvarado, chair

State Sen. Nathan Johnson, vice chair

State Sen. Judith Zaffirini

State Sen. Royce West

State Sen. Juan ‘Chuy’ Hinojosa

State Sen. José Menéndez

State Sen. Borris Miles

State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt

State Sen. Roland Gutierrez

State Sen. César Blanco

State Sen. Morgan LaMantia

State Sen. Molly Cook

The post Senate Democrats urge DOJ to investigate Texas for potential civil and voting rights violations appeared first on Rio Grande Guardian.