As Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton asked the U.S. Supreme Court in November 2025 to let Texas use its new congressional map after a three-judge federal panel found substantial evidence that it was racially gerrymandered, and the Court allowed it for the 2026 elections. In August 2024 armed officers from his office searched the homes of Latino voting volunteers in South Texas, and his office prosecuted Hervis Rogers, a Houston man who waited hours to vote in 2020, until a judge dismissed the case.
In his May 2026 runoff victory speech Paxton pledged to "finally secure our nation's elections by passing the SAVE America" Act, which would make Americans show documents like a passport or birth certificate to register to vote. He also urged the Senate to confirm Pam Bondi, whose Justice Department's voting section shrank to about six lawyers.
Ken Paxton's Map Defense, Election Prosecutions and Pledges on Voting
- Paxton Defended the 2025 Texas Map a Federal Panel Found Was Likely Racially Gerrymandered. On November 21, 2025, Ken Paxton filed an appeal and emergency request in the U.S. Supreme Court to defend Texas's new congressional map after a three-judge panel blocked it, saying "Texas engaged in partisan redistricting solely to secure more Republican seats in Congress." On December 4, 2025 the Supreme Court cleared the way for Texas to use the map in 2026, and Paxton called it "a massive win for Texas." The panel, in an opinion by a Trump appointee, had found that substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 map, citing statements suggesting the map-drawer manipulated the racial demographics of districts to eliminate existing districts where Black and Latino voters together make up the majority; NPR reported that the map could help Republicans win five more U.S. House seats.
- Paxton's Officers Searched the Homes of Latino Voting Volunteers, Including Women Aged 73 and 80. In August 2024, armed officers from Ken Paxton's office arrived at dawn with search warrants at the homes of Latino voting volunteers and Democratic activists in South Texas as part of his election-fraud investigation; those searched included Cecilia Castellano, a Democrat running for a Texas House seat, as well as a 73-year-old woman and an 80-year-old woman, LULAC said. Castellano said her phone was taken during the search of her home, and the League of United Latin American Citizens asked the Justice Department to investigate what it called "a direct attempt to suppress the Latino vote through intimidation and harassment."
- Paxton's Office Prosecuted Hervis Rogers, Who Waited Six Hours to Vote, Until a Judge Dismissed It. Ken Paxton's office brought illegal-voting charges against Hervis Rogers, a Houston man who did not leave his polling place at Texas Southern University until about 1:30 a.m. after waiting in line to vote in March 2020, charges that carried a possible sentence of two to 20 years in prison. A judge dismissed the case in October 2022, after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals upheld that the state cannot unilaterally prosecute election fraud cases. Rogers had been out on bail since 2021; "It has been horrible," he said when the case was dismissed.
- Paxton Pledged to Pass the SAVE America Act, Which Would Require Proof of Citizenship to Register. In his runoff victory speech on May 26, 2026, Ken Paxton pledged to "finally secure our nation's elections by passing the SAVE America" Act. The bill would force Americans to show documents like a passport or birth certificate to register to vote, and the Brennan Center's research shows that 21 million American citizens lack ready access to these documents. The House has already passed a version of the bill, and by May 2026 it was collecting dust in the Senate.
- Paxton Urged the Senate to Confirm Pam Bondi, Under Whom DOJ's Voting Section Fell From 30 Lawyers to About 6. On December 3, 2024, Ken Paxton signed a letter of attorneys general urging the Senate to swiftly confirm Pam Bondi as the next United States Attorney General. Under Bondi, the Civil Rights Division said it would shift away from priorities like enforcing voting rights laws, and the staff of the division's voting section dwindled from approximately 30 lawyers down to about 6, the Brennan Center reported.
- Paxton Warned It Is Illegal to Misrepresent Your Residence, Then Voted Using an Address Where He Did Not Live. Two weeks before the March 2026 primaries, Ken Paxton announced a tip line for reporting voter fraud and linked to his office's guidance warning that "it is illegal to misrepresent your residence on election records." The Texas Tribune and ProPublica found on July 7, 2026 that Paxton appears to have used an address where he did not live while voting in six elections in the past two years: the Collin County home that, according to his wife's 2025 divorce filing, he moved out of a year earlier.
What Ken Paxton's Record Means for Texas Voters
- Congressional map. The Supreme Court's December 2025 order cleared the way for Texas to use the 2025 map, which a lower court found is likely unconstitutional, in the 2026 midterm elections.
Frequently Asked Questions About Ken Paxton on Voting rights
What is Ken Paxton's record on voting rights under Trump?
Ken Paxton defended Texas's 2025 congressional map in the Supreme Court after a federal panel found substantial evidence it was racially gerrymandered, and the map is in use for 2026. His office searched the homes of Latino voting volunteers in 2024 and prosecuted Hervis Rogers until a judge dismissed the case. He pledged to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require documents many citizens lack, and backed Pam Bondi, under whom DOJ's voting section shrank.
Does Ken Paxton support the SAVE America Act?
Yes. Ken Paxton pledged in his May 26, 2026 runoff victory speech to pass the SAVE America Act. The Brennan Center says the bill would force Americans to show a passport, birth certificate or similar document to register, documents that 21 million citizens lack ready access to.
Why did Ken Paxton's office search the homes of Latino voters?
Ken Paxton's office carried out the August 2024 searches as part of a voter fraud probe in South Texas; an affidavit said the Frio County election administrator was among those under "spot surveillance" by his office. LULAC said Paxton targeted 12 Latinos in three south Texas counties and called the raids "voter intimidation."
Did Ken Paxton vote using an address where he did not live?
The Texas Tribune and ProPublica reported in July 2026 that Ken Paxton appears to have used an address where he did not live while voting in six elections. His office has pursued other Texans over the same kind of claim: in Edinburg, his voter fraud unit arrested nine people on suspicion of using residential addresses where they did not live, and county prosecutors later dismissed the charges.
Last updated: 2026-10-25