One of the nation's oldest civil rights groups plans to file a federal lawsuit after Texas authorities conducted searches and seizures for alleged illegal ballot harvesting ahead of the 2024 election.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) announced that the Department of Justice's election integrity division conducted searches in three South Texas counties last week as part of an ongoing investigation.
Paxton said his department has been investigating allegations of fraud and ballot harvesting since 2022 and has gathered enough evidence to obtain a warrant.
But officials with the League of Latin American Citizens (LULAC) argued that the warrant-based searches amounted to “raids” and unfairly targeted elderly, long-time volunteers who were engaged in legitimate ballot collection.
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A woman prepares to count mail-in ballots at a polling station in Pennsylvania. (Amy Dilger/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images/File)
LULAC National President Roman Palomares said he hopes to travel to Washington to meet with Justice Department officials in charge of civil rights litigation. Palomares argued that “100 percent” of those targeted are Latino or ethnic minorities.
“Two or three of our members [subject to the searches]and is certified [voter] “We're targeting subscribers,” he told Fox News Digital. “They're normal people, but for some reason [them]”
“We believe this is unfair. This is a tactic they use to suppress the vote,” Palomares said. “We feel that's what's being done and that's why we're here. I'm here to protect my members.”
Paxton's office did not respond to a request for comment, but the attorney general said in a statement that “secure elections are a cornerstone of our republic.”
“When the District Attorney referred this case to my office for investigation, we gladly cooperated. We are committed to protecting the security of the ballot box and the integrity of every lawful vote, which means ensuring that those who commit election crimes are held accountable,” Paxton said.
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But Palomares said there may be another political interest in the Uvalde-area county where the operation took place: Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Republican Party view the 80th Congressional District as the one most likely to be won by a Democrat in November.
Palomares maintained that LULAC volunteers are not in Bexar County to help Democrats hold onto their seats, suggesting the organization is not permitted to do so.
“There are people working to help her. Not necessarily to help her, but there are people working to make sure voters are registered and can vote. We're nonpartisan. We can't tell you how to vote, but we want to make sure as many people as possible are registered and can exercise their right,” he said.
“And they're the ones being targeted. It appears that the area around this district is being targeted.”
Abbott's office did not respond to a request for comment on the allegations, but in January he endorsed Republican candidate and former Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin.
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League of Latin American Citizens Brochure (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images/File)
Palomares added that one of the women targeted in the warrant search was 80 years old and a former member of the LULAC board of directors.
He said police confiscated her electronic devices and that she said she felt embarrassed to be left outside her home in her nightclothes at dawn, a search he called an “intimidation tactic.”
“That doesn't seem right. She hasn't committed a crime, she hasn't been convicted of a crime, she hasn't been in hiding,” Palomares said.
“So they hear these allegations from somewhere, come in and take action.”
A Justice Department spokesman confirmed receipt of LULAC's letter on Tuesday but declined to provide further details.
