Abbott Announces Removal of Over One Million Ineligible Voters from Texas Rolls
by Erin Anderson, Texas Scorecard.com, August 27, 2024
Gov. Greg Abbott announced that more than a million ineligible voters have been removed from Texas voter rolls since 2021. While many of those were deceased or had changed their address, over 6,500 are noncitizens, according to a release from Abbott.
About 1,930 of those 6,500 registered noncitizens had a voting history.
He stated that Secretary of State Jane Nelson is âin the process of sending all 1,930 records to the Attorney Generalâs Office for investigation and potential legal action.â
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âElection integrity is essential to our democracy,â said Abbott. âI have signed the strongest election laws in the nation to protect the right to vote and to crackdown on illegal voting. These reforms have led to the removal of over one million ineligible people from our voter rolls in the last three years, including noncitizens, deceased voters, and people who moved to another state.
âThe Secretary of State and county voter registrars have an ongoing legal requirement to review the voter rolls, remove ineligible voters, and refer any potential illegal voting to the Attorney Generalâs Office and local authorities for investigation and prosecution. Illegal voting in Texas will never be tolerated,â Abbott added.
Meanwhile the Secretary of State also released the findings of a four-county election audit that showed persistent problems in Harris County.
AttorÂney GenÂerÂal Ken Paxtonâs CrimÂiÂnal InvesÂtiÂgaÂtion DiviÂsion ExeÂcutes Search WarÂrants in Frio, AtasÂcosa, and Bexar CounÂties in OngoÂing ElecÂtion IntegriÂty Investigation
On August 20, 2024, Attorney General Ken Paxtonâs Election Integrity Unit executed multiple search warrants in Frio, Atascosa, and Bexar Counties as part of an ongoing election integrity investigation.
In 2022, the Election Integrity Unit received a referral from the 81st Judicial District Attorney Audrey Louis regarding allegations of election fraud and vote harvesting that occurred during the 2022 elections. The subsequent two-year investigation provided sufficient evidence to obtain the search warrants in furtherance of the ongoing investigation.
Attorney General Paxton has prioritized election integrity as a central initiative for the Office of the Attorney General. The OAG investigates and, when requested by county or district attorneys, prosecutes allegations of voter fraud to ensure election integrity within Texas.
âSecure elections are the cornerstone of our republic,â said Attorney General Paxton. âWe were glad to assist when the District Attorney referred this case to my office for investigation. We are completely committed to protecting the security of the ballot box and the integrity of every legal vote. This means ensuring accountability for anyone committing election crimes.â
Due to the nature of the ongoing investigation, the Texas Attorney Generalâs Office will have no further comment at this time.
https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxtons-criminal-investigation-division-executes-search-warrants-frio-atascosa
