Paxton sues nonprofit for allegedly registering illegal immigrants to vote

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) filed a lawsuit against a nonprofit organization for allegedly registering illegal immigrants to vote.

Paxton announced the lawsuit against JOLT Initiative, Inc., on Monday, which is a grassroots organization with the goal of increasing civic participation among younger Latinos in Texas, The Hill reported. The Texas attorney general's office alleges that JOLT orchestrated "a systematic, unlawful voter registration scheme that is designed to sabotage Texas election integrity and allow illegals to vote."

“The left constantly tries to cheat and rig elections because they know they can’t win honestly. Any organization attempting to register illegals, who are all criminals, must be completely crushed and shut down immediately,” Paxton said in a statement. “JOLT is a radical, partisan operation that has, and continues to, knowingly attempt to corrupt our voter rolls and weaken the voice of lawful Texas voters. I will make sure they face the full force of the law.”

The Texas attorney general's office's investigation found that JOLT operatives were stationed outside Texas Department of Motor Vehicles locations, where they provided instructions that directly violated state election law. According to the investigation, JOLT and its volunteer deputy registrars worked to recruit and solicit individuals to submit unlawful voter registration applications, which could be used to register illegal immigrants who lack proper identification. 

Paxton requested that the court order JOLT to forfeit its corporate privileges, dissolve its charter, and cover the state's legal costs.

JOLT argued that the lawsuit is “unconstitutional” and vowed to fight it.

“The Attorney General is abusing his authority by using the state’s legal tool of dissolution, an extreme measure, against Jolt simply because we are effective at registering Latino voters,” Executive Director ⁨Jackie Bastard said in a statement⁩. “This is a systematic effort to dismantle the infrastructure of Latino civic engagement in Texas.”

JOLT has filed a motion asking the court to dismiss the case or transfer it to Houston, where the group has offices.