Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is making another attempt to find illegal voters

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wants the secretary of state to identify registered voters who do not have a Texas driver's license or identification card.

Paxton said in a letter to Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson on Wednesday that his goal is to use this list to stop non-citizens from voting and investigate possible voter fraud.

In a post on

Paxton gave Nelson until Friday to respond whether she can comply with his request.

The Texas AG's latest move is another example of Republicans' recent focus on the specter of voter fraud by non-citizens, a narrative being promoted by GOP leaders across the country ahead of the 2024 election.

(It should be noted that there is no credible evidence that this, or voter fraud in general, occurs in significant numbers.)

Although Paxton gave Nelson a deadline of Friday, his letter does not specifically say what he would do if he were able to obtain the list.

Typically, states have an ongoing process to remove ineligible voters. Texas recently announced that it has done this to more than one million people since 2021.

However, at this point in the election cycle, removal through this routine process is not an option due to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.

This law prevents states from removing the names of ineligible voters from voter rolls 90 days before a federal election. There are only a few exceptions: Eligible voters include voters who voluntarily cancel their voter registration, deceased voters, voters who have been determined to be mentally incapacitated, or those who have been legally convicted of a felony (those who are appealing a felony conviction). ). ).

The 90-day moratorium on list keeping for the November 5th general election ended on August 7th.

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