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*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*

October 16, 2024

www.texasattorneygeneral.gov




*PRESS OFFICE: (512) 463-2050*

[email protected]





 

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*Attorney General Ken Paxton Sends Multistate Letter to Biden-Harris Administration Demanding Compliance with Federal Law to Stop Noncitizens from Voting*

 

AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a letter along with fifteen other attorneys general demanding that U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas fulfill his legal duty to work with States to verify citizenship information for registered voters.

 

On October 7, Attorney General Paxton sent [ [link removed] ] a letter formally requesting that the federal government provide any information available regarding the citizenship status of potential noncitizens who had registered to vote in Texas illegally. Attached was a list of approximately 450,000 people who had registered to vote without providing a State of Texas-issued driver’s license or identification card, meaning that their citizenship status had never been verified. These actions officially triggered the federal government’s statutory obligation to comply with the request. Other states have similarly demanded the data necessary to verify the citizenship status of people on their voter rolls as well.

 

However, the Biden-Harris Administration has failed to provide States access to federal databases necessary to ensure the accuracy of their voter rolls by identifying if any noncitizens have illegally registered to vote. While it is a crime for noncitizens to register to vote, federal law has been construed by the courts to restrict States from requiring proof of citizenship as a prerequisite for registration. Therefore, the federal government must comply with the law and provide the requested information in a timely manner to ensure the integrity of American elections.

 

The letter to Secretary Mayorkas reads: “Despite your federal obligation, your office has provided delayed and inadequate responses to requests by several of the undersigned States for assistance in verifying voter registration information. We are deeply troubled by DHS’s refusal to grant access to its Person Centric Query Service (PCQS) database on its unsubstantiated claim that the information is not ‘appropriate’ to verify voter registrants. DHS’s statutory mandate to provide information to the States does not depend on DHS’s view on how useful that information may be.”

 

“The Biden-Harris Administration has refused to abide by the law. They are legally obligated to assist States in their efforts to ensure that noncitizens are not registered to vote or actually casting ballots in American elections,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Secretary Mayorkas owes every state the requested information without delay.”

 

To read the letter, click here. [ [link removed] ]

   

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