A federal judge has blocked Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s investigation into voter fraud by ruling that parts of the state’s SB1 are unconstitutional.
U.S. District Court Judge Xavier Rodriguez found a section of Texas’s 2021 Senate Bill 1 unconstitutional saying it was vague and placed invalid restrictions on freedom of speech. According to Texas Public Radio, the law allowed those who assist mail-in ballot voters in exchange for compensation could spend up to ten years in prison and could be fined up to $10,000.
Recently, Paxton used this law to raid homes of Latino voting rights activists, including volunteers of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), arguing they were involved in vote harvesting. LULAC then challenged the law, arguing that it criminalized routine voter engagement efforts, creating confusion and suppressing voter turnout.
Paxton said on social media that he blasted the judge’s ruling.
“I will immediately move to block this unacceptable ruling so Texas can continue to defend its elections from bad actors seeking to undermine the ballot box,” he wrote.
“A ruling—weeks prior to an election— preventing my office from investigating potential election violations is deeply troubling and risks undermining public trust in our political process.”
However, Paxton’s office failed to provide evidence to support his claims of voter fraud.
LULAC, on the other hand, suggested the provisions were being used by some politicians to commit acts of intimidation.
“For too long, certain politicians have used false claims to push abusive laws like this in campaigns of intimidation,” LULAX said on X. “Today’s decision blows a hole in those campaigns.”
LULAC has also called for a federal investigation into Paxton’s actions, claiming harassment of Latino voters because of the raids.
Nina Perales, vice president of litigation at the Mexican American Legal Defense, told the Dallas Morning News that the ruling means organizers and advocates can “speak to mail ballot voters about issues on the ballot and urge voters to support improvements to their communities.”
