Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is appealing a court ruling that limited the ability of his office to prosecute voter fraud cases. Paxton set up the Texas Election Integrity Unit in October and has made prosecuting those cases a priority.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals last month issued a ruling in a lawsuit filed in a case from 2016 in Jefferson County. The court ruled that under the Texas Constitution, the responsibility for handling voter fraud cases rests with local prosecutors, not the Texas Attorney General's Office. The court ruled that the local District Attorney could request help from state officials, but the Texas Attorney General's Office could not initiate its own prosecution without an invitation from local prosecutors.
Paxton has filed an appeal asking for a re-hearing of the case. He argues the court misinterpreted the state's constitution.
"This decision is not only wrong on legal grounds, but it has the effect of giving district and county attorneys virtually unlimited discretion to not bring election law prosecutions," he said.
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