Cracking Down

Texas AG going after voting fraud in spite of criticsm from the left

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is determined to hit back hard at those suspected of voting fraud.

So far this year his office has prosecuted 33 people on a total of 97 counts.

That’s more than the total number of prosecutions over the previous 12 years.

We think most Texans will be happy about this. Although voter fraud is not common—certainly not as common as some would suggest— when it happens it is a serious crime, one that undermines our democracy.

Critics, of course, aren’t that happy.

They charge the prosecutions are politically motivated, little more than an attempt to scare off minority voters before the November elections.

There probably is a political motivation—this kind of thing plays well with the voting public and will no doubt help Paxton down the road— but enforcing election laws won’t scare off any legal voter. They have nothing at all to fear.

However, we hope Paxton’s actions send a strong message to those determined to break the law and keeps them away from the ballot box.

“Anyone attempting to deprive the people of Texas of their voice in either state or federal elections will be brought to justice and penalized by the full extent of the law,” Paxton said in a press release.

We agree.