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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into 33 potential non-citizens allegedly voted illegally in the 2024 general election.
Paxton, a Republican who has put a major Senate challenge to Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, released his investigation Tuesday.
During a press conference, Paxton’s office said it was aware of potential illegal votes by Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson. Nelson said he could only access information due to an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in March this year, according to the statement.
Trump’s executive order, entitled “Maintaining and Protecting the integrity of American elections,” directed the Department of National and Homeland Security to provide all states with “access to appropriate systems to verify the citizenship or immigration status of individuals who register for the ballot.”
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Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton (left) has launched an investigation into 33 potential non-citizens allegedly voted in the 2024 general election. (Justin Lane/Reuters and AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, file)
The order also directs Attorney General Kristi Noem of DHS to Attorney General Pam Bondi to provide complete information regarding all foreigners presented in immigration forms registered or voted in federal, state or local elections, and shall take all appropriate measures to submit to relevant state or local election officials.”
Part of the order included a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service save database open to the state so that Nelson could access information about allegedly voting illegally, according to a Paxton statement.
“Freedom, fair and honest elections made harmless by fraud, error or doubt are fundamental to maintaining the Constitutional Republic,” Trump said, adding that “the right to properly count and count votes is important in order to determine the right winner of an election, without illegal dilution.”
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The voting booth will be seen at the Polling Station at Glass Elementary School in Eagle Pass, Texas on November 8, 2022 (Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images)
In August 2024, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that the state had removed 1.1 million voters from the role of those who moved the state, including those who were deceased or citizens.
A statement from the governor’s office said more than 6,500 individuals excluded from the state’s voter role are potential non-citizens. The statement said about 1,930 non-citizens who were removed had a voter history.
A report by the Texastribune later alleged that the governor’s office had inflated the number of non-citizen voters. However, the governor’s office says the removal process will be “continued.”
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will speak at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC on November 1, 2021 (Drew Anger/Getty Images)
In a statement Tuesday, announcing the investigation into 33 potential non-citizen votes, Paxton said, “I have said these potential cases of illegal voting will be thoroughly investigated. I will continue to fight President Trump to ensure that our state’s elections are safe and secure.”
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“To trust the integrity of our election, the outcome must be determined by our own citizens, rather than breaking the law to vote illegally,” Paxton said.
Peter Pinedo is a political writer for Fox News Digital.
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