Texas voters received a significant victory for voting rights in federal court this past week when it ruled against a key provision of Texas’ anti-voter law, Senate Bill 1.
The portion struck down is what the court refers to as ‘the canvassing restriction,’ which served no purpose but to illegally suppress core political speech under threat of criminal prosecution. The court essentially stopped the state from “implementing, enforcing, or giving any effect to the Canvassing Restriction…that violates Plaintiffs’ free speech and due process rights.” This ruling is a powerful rebuke of Texas’s unconstitutional restrictions on the First and 14th Amendment rights of civic engagement groups. As a result, Texas AFT and other community organizers and their members can again engage in canvassing- the valuable one-on-one conversations we have with community members to increase voter turnout.
The state’s attacks on voters started in 2021, when Governor Abbott and state leaders legitimized the conspiracy theories of radical election deniers by passing SB 1, a direct response to their false claims of election fraud in the 2020 election.
In September of 2021, Texas AFT joined a lawsuit that includes LULAC Texas, Voto Latino, and the Texas Alliance for Retired Americans among others to challenge this Texas voter suppression law.
The case challenges multiple provisions of SB 1, including additional ID requirements for absentee voting and the empowerment of partisan poll watchers. In addition to claiming the new law imposes an undue burden on the right to vote, it also alleged that the restrictions are purposely intended to limit minority voters’ access to the ballot box in violation of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) and disproportionately impact voters with disabilities and limited language proficiencies also in violation of the VRA.
We are proud to have been a part of this group effort and relentless commitment to Texans and to our democracy. This ruling affirms what we have known all along: there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in 2020; there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud now. We are hopeful that the law’s other harmful changes will be struck down as well. Democracy cannot thrive when our civic engagement is criminalized. But this recent victory still has not stopped Attorney General Ken Paxton from attacking civic engagement groups and their leaders in an effort to suppress voting.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Voter Suppression Campaign
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has long waged an aggressive campaign against alleged voter fraud in the state, and in the past few months, he has redoubled his efforts despite the lack of any evidence pointing to widespread issues. These actions, thinly veiled as protecting election integrity, amount to blatant voter suppression targeting minority voters and voters in Democratic strongholds.
Raids and Intimidation Tactics
In August 2024, Paxton’s office executed search warrants in Frio, Atascosa, and Bexar counties, ostensibly investigating voter fraud allegations from the 2022 election cycle. These raids, targeting homes of Latino campaign workers, volunteers, and even a Democratic candidate for the Texas House, serve as clear intimidation tactics.
One raid victim, 87-year-old Lidia Martinez, a retired educator and a member of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), recounted her harrowing experience: “They questioned me for three hours. At one point, they had me outside in front of all my neighbors while they searched the living room, and they never let me get dressed. It was just very embarrassing, intimidating harassment.”
These actions prompted LULAC to call for a federal investigation. Ramon Palomares, LULAC’s national president, described Paxton’s raids: “This is pointblank voter intimidation, and LULAC will fight for the right of every Latino to exercise their right to vote.”
Obstructing Voter Registration
Paxton has taken aggressive legal action to block voter registration efforts in Democratic strongholds in an apparent attempt to suppress potential Democratic votes.
In September 2024, he sued Bexar County to prevent it from mailing voter registration forms to unregistered voters, baselessly claiming that state law does not allow such efforts and that it could “induce ineligible people—such as felons and noncitizens—to commit a crime by attempting to register to vote.” Paxton also filed litigation against Travis County for a similar voter registration effort.
Just this week, Paxton requested a list of registered Texas voters who do not have a driver’s license or ID card from the Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson, stating that he wishes to use it to prevent non-citizens from voting in Texas elections and to investigate potential voter fraud. It is already illegal for non-citizens to vote in state and federal elections, and there is no evidence that non-citizen voting or voter fraud occur in significant numbers. In fact, they are vanishingly rare.
This move follows a pattern of Paxton threatening legal action against counties with large Latino populations and Democratic majorities. U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, characterized these efforts as “a devious effort to make us even more solid as ground zero for voter suppression.”
Recently, Texas placed 2.2 million voters on the “suspense list” this summer because their local elections authorities were unable to verify their addresses. We have heard from people who were removed from the voter rolls even though they have lived at the same address for decades, so we urge you to verify that you are still on the Secretary of State’s voter rolls. Click here to CHECK YOUR VOTING STATUS
The Human Cost of Overzealous Enforcement
The case of Crystal Mason exemplifies the real and devastating consequences of Paxton’s voter fraud crusade on ordinary citizens. Mason, a Texas mother of three, was sentenced to five years in prison for casting a provisional ballot in 2016 while on supervised release for a federal conviction, unaware that she was ineligible to vote. Despite her provisional ballot never being counted and her repeated assertions that she was unaware of her ineligibility, Mason faced years of legal battles. Although her conviction was overturned earlier this year, Paxton’s office has recently convinced the Court of Criminal Appeals to review the case, potentially putting Mason at risk once again. This relentless pursuit of Mason, despite the absence of criminal intent, demonstrates how Paxton’s aggressive stance on voter fraud can destroy lives over honest mistakes which has had a chilling effect, especially among new voters. The ACLU of Texas has found that Paxton’s prosecutions have disproportionately targeted Black and Latino voters, particularly women of color.
A History of Politically Motivated Voter Suppression
Paxton’s actions are part of a longer history of voter suppression in Texas disguised as combating fraud. In 2020, Paxton boasted to Steve Bannon that by blocking the distribution of over two million ballot applications, he prevented Texas from becoming a battleground state, claiming Trump “would’ve lost the election” otherwise.
Paxton has been similarly explicit about his political motivations in recent interviews. Speaking with the Epoch Times in February, he stated: “If Texas can’t protect against voter fraud, we’re going to lose the state. If Texas isn’t Republican, we’re going to have a one-party country.” These comments reveal that Paxton’s efforts are about maintaining political power, not ensuring election integrity.
This ongoing voter suppression has led to calls for both federal and state investigations into Paxton’s actions. U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-El Paso), stated: “Unfortunately, our state has a long record and a dark history of trying to suppress voter turnout, and we think it’s imperative that the Department of Justice investigate the attorney general’s actions.”
As we approach the 2024 elections, it’s crucial to recognize and resist these voter suppression tactics masquerading as election integrity measures. We must protect every eligible citizen’s right to vote without intimidation or undue obstacles, ensuring that our democratic processes remain truly representative of and accessible to all Texans.