Texas Senate passes bill authorizing AG to initiate prosecutions of election crimes

The Texas Senate passed a bill on Wednesday authorizing the Texas Office of Attorney General (OAG) to prosecute election crimes.

SB 11, filed by state Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Tyler, was a legislative priority of Gov. Greg Abbott’s and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s.

It was filed after the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the "attorney general is not required by law to prosecute election law violations." The court also held that the OAG, as part of the executive branch, can prosecute election crimes at the invitation of or permission of the county prosecutor but cannot initiate prosecution unilaterally.

State Election Code also does not require the OAG to initiate prosecution for election violations.

The Texas Constitution’s separation of powers clause prohibits the OAG from independently and unilaterally initiating prosecution of alleged election fraud because it is part of the executive, not judicial, branch. The OAG can only investigate and prosecute alleged election fraud or any other crime after county or district attorneys request it to.

SB 11 would change that by amending state law to authorize the attorney general to prosecute election crimes if no proceedings have begun on the crimes after a period of six months passes. The bill would require local law enforcement officers who normally submit reports of probable cause of election crimes to local prosecuting attorneys to also submit them to the OAG. It also would require them to provide the OAG with all information from their election crime investigations upon request, according to the bill analysis.

“Texans know that election integrity is of utmost importance, and securing our elections has been a top priority of mine. Meanwhile, several rogue district and county attorneys across the state are refusing to enforce our election laws and prosecute election crimes. That is completely unacceptable,” Patrick said.

By passing SB 11, the Senate took the first step to “stop these rogue district and county attorneys once and for all,” Patrick said. The bill gives the attorney general “the ultimate authority to prosecute election crimes in Texas to ensure that no election crime goes unpunished.”

The Senate vote comes after six Frio County officials, including the county judge, were indicted and arrested for election fraud crimes related to a vote-harvesting scheme, The Center Square reported.

The arrests and indictment came after a three-year investigation conducted by the Frio County District Attorney’s Office and OAG’s Election Integrity Unit. Last August, the OAG’s Election Integrity Unit executed multiple search warrants in Frio, Atascosa, and Bexar counties as part of the investigation, The Center Square reported.

The number of arrests is now up to 15, the county DA said earlier this month, KSAT News reported.

Last year, the OAG’s Election Integrity Unit also launched investigations into organizations operating in Texas that “may be unlawfully registering noncitizens to vote in violation of state and federal law,” The Center Square reported. Investigators conducted undercover operations in metropolitan areas to identify if noncitizens were being registered to vote.

They also “confirmed that various nonprofit organizations” set up booths outside of Texas Department of Public Safety Driver License offices in an attempt to register to vote those who arrived regardless of citizenship status, the OAG said at the time.

The OAG encourages members of the public to report suspected violations of Texas election law through an email tipline: illegalvoting@oag.texas.gov.