FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 4, 2024
PRESS OFFICE: (512) 463-2050
Attorney General Ken Paxton Deploys Election Day Rapid Response Legal Team
AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has deployed an Election Day Rapid Response Legal Team in major counties throughout the State to monitor day-of election activity and address litigation arising from the election, as necessary.
The Election Day Rapid Response Legal Team will be equipped to enforce Texas election laws and take immediate action on any contingencies, including issues seen in previous cycles such as ballot shortages, extended polling location closures, and improper extension of voting hours. Similarly, the OAG will prepare to take defensive action against activist groups who might attempt to influence the election through litigation. The Election Day Rapid Response Legal Team will coordinate with the Texas Secretary of State to ensure that all issues are addressed immediately, and that Texas elections are fair and secure.
Attorney General Paxton has taken extensive action to protect Texas elections from unlawful activity, including suing municipalities unlawfully using taxpayer funds to send voter registration materials to potentially ineligible residents—in one instance, mailing forms to a woman who died more than 40 years ago. He also demanded the Biden-Harris Administration provide information regarding the citizenship status of people who may be illegally registered to vote as required by federal law and sued over their noncompliance. He is also actively defending the State’s election integrity law, Senate Bill 1, to ensure this election is the most secure Texas has ever seen.
“There is no issue more important and more fundamental to our nation than election integrity,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Our Election Day Rapid Response Legal Team will be on the frontline on November 5th. We will defend the ballot box from any bad actors seeking to unduly influence or illegally undermine Texas elections.”
If you suspect an election violation, you may contact the OAG tipline at [email protected].
Side Bar:
AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit supporting President Donald Trump’s claims that special prosecutor Jack Smith was illegally appointed by the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”).
The brief argues that the Biden-Harris Administration’s appointment of the special prosecutor in this case directly implicates Texas’s fundamental interest in preventing unlawful federal action. DOJ claims that the U.S. Attorney General—acting without any statutory guidance from Congress—may empower a private individual to spend tens of millions of dollars to enforce federal criminal laws.
Further, Texas’s brief argues that the appointment of a “special prosecutor” triggers the principle of constitutional avoidance. The Constitution requires Congress to provide meaningful guidance when empowering federal agencies to choose between two available enforcement paths yet, here, the statutes DOJ cites provide no guidance at all.
“The Biden-Harris Administration’s appointment of Jack Smith was blatantly unconstitutional,” said Attorney General Paxton. “DOJ, without any authority, spent more than $30 million to hire a private individual to harass the former President by weaponizing partisan lawfare against him. This erodes the rule of law that distinguishes the United States from third-world, totalitarian regimes.”
The brief explains: “By any measure, it is extraordinary to suppose that Congress empowered the Attorney General to appoint a private attorney to lead (rather than simply assist) a significant multi-district investigation and prosecution on behalf of the United States. It is even more extraordinary to suppose that Congress would allow the Attorney General to do this for one of the most high-profile and expensive prosecutions imaginable: The unprecedented prosecution of a former President of the United States. Because the claimed power is extraordinary, Congress must speak clearly before courts can conclude that the Attorney General is authorized to wield it.”
To read the brief, click here.
