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LEGAL NEWSLINE

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Attorneys general urge compliance with law on noncitizen voting

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Attorney General Ken Paxton | Facebook Website

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, along with attorneys general from fifteen other states, has sent a letter to the Biden-Harris Administration. The letter calls on U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to fulfill his obligation to collaborate with states in verifying citizenship information for registered voters.

On October 7, Attorney General Paxton formally requested that the federal government provide any available information regarding the citizenship status of individuals who may have illegally registered to vote in Texas. The request included a list of approximately 450,000 individuals who had registered without providing a Texas-issued driver's license or identification card, meaning their citizenship status was not verified. This request activates the federal government's legal duty to comply. Other states have made similar demands for data to verify voter roll accuracy.

The Biden-Harris Administration has not granted states access to necessary federal databases that could identify noncitizens illegally registered to vote. Although it is illegal for noncitizens to register, courts have interpreted federal law as preventing states from requiring proof of citizenship for registration. Therefore, according to Paxton and others, the federal government must supply the requested information promptly to maintain election integrity.

In their letter, they state: “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.”

Attorney General Paxton further commented: “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,” adding that "Secretary Mayorkas owes every state the requested information without delay."

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