Paxton, a Republican, launched the probe this week based on a claim tweeted out by Fox News TV personality Maria Bartiromo, who claimed migrants were registering to vote outside a driver's license office in North Texas' Parker County. Bartiromo said she'd received the tip from “a friend,” who'd heard from a friend’s wife that people in a tent outside the office were illegally registering non-citizens.
Both the Parker County Republican chair and election administrator have since said there's no evidence to support Bartiromo's claim.
In their letter, the Texas Civil Rights Project, ACLU Texas, the League of Women Voters of Texas and American Oversight called Paxton's investigation a baseless waste of money, adding that it disparages immigrants and intimidates those who register others to vote.
"Noncitizen voting is a vanishingly rare occurrence and the Attorney General’s press release fails to identify any illegal activity, instead aiming unsubstantiated accusations at routine voter registration activities," the letter said. "This investigation therefore serves only to waste taxpayer money, intimidate nonprofit organizations from engaging in voter registration efforts, villainize immigrants and people of color, and limit opportunities for Texans to register to vote."
Further, the letter references a remark an anonymous DPS spokesperson provided to the Fort Worth Star Telegram calling the assumptions underlying Paxton's probe "kind of racist."
A nationwide survey of elections officials who tabulated a total of 23.5 million votes during the 2016 general election identified only 30 incidents of suspected noncitizen voting, according to the letter. That amounts to a rate of just 0.0001%.
In their letter, the groups also argue that organizations promoting voter registration have a legal right to do so and play a vital role in ensuring marginalized communities are represented at the ballot box.
"The Attorney General’s actions threaten this key work by creating unnecessary fear and confusion, and are part of a broader pattern of anti-immigrant and anti-democratic measures aimed at disenfranchising and demonizing communities of color," the letter stated.
On Monday, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) said it's asking the federal government to look into raids Paxton's office conducted in San Antonio and South Texas as part of a separate investigation into claims of voter fraud.
LULAC officials said search warrants largely targeted Latinos and amount to an effort to suppress Democratic voter turnout ahead of the November election.
Paxton has a long history of making questionable claims about voter fraud, including erroneous claims that the 2020 election was rigged in favor of President Joe Biden.
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