A prominent Latino voting organization is calling on the Justice Department to investigate a series of raids held across Texas last week as part an ongoing election fraud investigation led by the state’s controversial attorney general, Ken Paxton.
The raids targeted prominent Democrats and election volunteers — including some in their late 80s — according to a spokesperson for the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC, at a press conference on Monday.
Investigators allegedly confiscated cell phones, computers, and other records, according to LULAC officials.
“I call upon the appropriate federal authorities to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into the factors that led Texas Attorney [General] Ken Paxton to order these armed raids,” Lupe Torres, a LULAC leader, said.
Among those targeted in the raids was Lydia Martinez, an 80-year-old retired teacher who lives in San Antonio, who “was removed from her home in her night gown and made to wait outside in full view of her neighbors and the general public, causing great humiliation and discomfort,” said LULAC president Roman Palomares at the Monday press conference.
“Lydia’s devices, personal calendar, and voter registration materials were confiscated, and she was coerced into providing her passwords under the threat of delayed return of her property,” LULAC said in its letter to the Justice Department.
Speaking to ABC News on Tuesday, LULAC CEO Juan Proaño called the raids “baseless.”
Campaign signs outside a polling location for the 2020 Presidential election in Humble, Texas, U.S., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020.
Sharon Steinmann/Bloomberg via Getty Images, File
“There’s no merit to it at all. There’s no evidence that was actually provided, even to the judge when they received these warrants. They’re baseless,” Proaño said of the allegations. “We know for a fact, certainly as it relates to our members, that there is nothing at all to substantiate any voter harvesting, any voter fraud at all.”
Paxton said in a statement last week that his office had uncovered “sufficient evidence” of election fraud to justify the search warrants executed during the raids.
A county prosecutor outside of San Antonio referred the alleged “election fraud and vote harvesting” to the attorney general’s office in 2022, according to Paxton’s statement.
The raids also coincided with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s announcement this week that the state, since 2021, had purged more than a million people from the state’s voter rolls, including nearly half a million deceased people and over 6,500 noncitizens. State election officials frequently update voter rolls to remove deceased individuals or those who have moved out of the state.
Proãno told ABC News that the small fraction of noncitizens make up only half of a percentage point of the registrants removed, which he believes is proof that widespread voter fraud among noncitizens is not a systemic issue in the state of Texas.
“It’s almost half a percent. We’re not saying that it doesn’t exist. We’re not saying that there are folks that are not U.S. citizens who are registered. Sometimes they register by accident. Sometimes they get bad information and they do register. But there is not systemic voter harvesting going on there, not systemic voter fraud,” Proãno said on ABC News Live with Kyra Phillips.
Abbott said his office had referred “any potential illegal voting” activity to Paxton’s office for investigation.
A Justice Department spokesperson told ABC News it had received a letter from LULAC, but would not comment on whether they plan to take any investigative steps.
Paxton’s office did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
The Latino voting group, Voto Latino, has recently requested that the Department of Justice (DOJ) launch an investigation into election fraud raids that have been taking place in Texas. The raids, which have targeted predominantly Latino communities, have raised concerns about voter suppression and intimidation tactics being used to disenfranchise minority voters.
Voto Latino, a non-profit organization that aims to empower Latino voters and increase their political representation, has been monitoring the situation closely and has documented numerous instances of voter intimidation and harassment during the raids. In a letter to the DOJ, the group has called for a thorough investigation into these allegations and for action to be taken to protect the rights of all voters in Texas.
The raids, which have been conducted by state officials and law enforcement agencies, have targeted individuals suspected of committing voter fraud. However, critics argue that the raids are being used as a pretext to intimidate minority voters and discourage them from participating in the electoral process. In some cases, individuals have been detained and questioned for hours without being charged with any crime, leading to fears that these tactics are being used to suppress voter turnout in Latino communities.
Voto Latino has also raised concerns about the lack of transparency and accountability in the raid process, with reports of law enforcement officers refusing to provide information about the reasons for the raids or the legal basis for detaining individuals. This lack of transparency has only served to heighten suspicions about the true motivations behind the raids and has further fueled fears of voter suppression.
In response to these allegations, the DOJ has stated that it is reviewing Voto Latino’s request for an investigation and will take appropriate action if any violations of federal voting rights laws are found. The department has also emphasized the importance of protecting the rights of all voters and ensuring that every eligible individual has the opportunity to participate in the democratic process without fear of intimidation or harassment.
As the investigation unfolds, it is crucial for all parties involved to uphold the principles of democracy and ensure that every voter’s voice is heard. Voter suppression and intimidation have no place in a free and fair election, and it is essential that steps are taken to safeguard the rights of all voters, regardless of their race or ethnicity. The outcome of this investigation will have far-reaching implications for the future of voting rights in Texas and across the country, and it is imperative that justice is served for all those who have been affected by these troubling events.
