In 2021, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stunned voters by stripping the state’s Attorney General Ken Paxton of a power his office had exercised for more than 70 years: the ability to independently prosecute election fraud.
For Attorney General Ken Paxton, one of the nation’s strongest voices for election integrity, the ruling is a calculated gift to Democrats who depend on weak enforcement to protect their ballot-harvesting machines.
Now, Republicans are fighting back. Recently, Rep. Matt Shaheen of Plano filed House Joint Resolution 1 and House Bill 11, legislation that would restore the Attorney General’s independent authority to prosecute voter fraud.
Rural America faces a massive election integrity crisis.
I’ve exposed 2 major cases in South TX: one where an indicted Dem House Rep STOLE an election from a GOP candidate, and another where AG Paxton arrested 15 Dems for ballot harvesting.
— Gregory Lyakhov (@GregoryLyakhov) August 22, 2025
In the Senate, a near-identical measure, Senate Bill 11, already cleared a preliminary vote. Both measures are barreling through the legislature, with support from Gov. Greg Abbott, who has made election integrity one of his top priorities for the special session ending August 19.
The timing couldn’t be more urgent. Under current law, Paxton’s office can only step in if a local district attorney invites him. That safeguard has proven toothless. In case after case, Democrat-aligned prosecutors have shrugged off evidence of fraud.
Paxton highlighted the problem himself earlier this year, warning that “rogue district and county attorneys” are deliberately declining to prosecute cases that threaten their own political machines.
Without state-level authority, voter fraud is left to local discretion—an open invitation to abuse.
The 2021 case that neutered the AG’s office stemmed from Paxton’s prosecution of a southeast Texas sheriff for alleged ballot fraud after the 2016 election. The local DA refused to act, and when Paxton’s team moved forward anyway, the sheriff challenged their authority.
WATCH: Texas GOP candidate Jay Furman EXPOSES the CORRUPT tactics used by DEMOCRATS.
The Court sided with the sheriff, effectively rewriting seven decades of precedent. The ruling meant the state’s top law enforcement officer was now powerless to pursue election fraud without permission from local prosecutors—many of whom owe their positions to the same crooked systems in need of oversight.
Republicans aren’t waiting around for another court to tie their hands. They’re advancing legislation that will slam the door shut on Democrats’ ability to shield corruption.
Just this year, Texas passed House Bill 5115, which takes effect September 1. That law upgrades penalties for voter fraud from a slap-on-the-wrist misdemeanor to a felony carrying up to 20 years in prison.
Lying on a voter application, altering ballots, or forging signatures will now carry the same weight as other serious felonies. For comparison, voter fraud in most states still results in fines or probation.
Texas Republicans are raising the stakes—sending a national message that playing games with the ballot box won’t be tolerated.
Democrats and their media allies argue that voter fraud is “rare.” The numbers tell a different story. Since 2005, there have been more than 1,400 proven cases of election fraud nationwide, according to the Heritage Foundation’s Election Fraud Database.
In Texas alone, Paxton’s office has prosecuted nearly 100 cases since 2005, even with limited authority. And those are just the cases caught—how many slip through when prosecutors refuse to act?
The effort to restore Paxton’s authority is more than a Texas fight. It’s part of a broader national battle to ensure Democrats can’t hide behind prosecutors who look the other way.
In Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin—states critical in the 2024 election—local officials have already shown they’re willing to let irregularities slide. Giving state attorneys general the teeth to act independently is the only way to enforce accountability across partisan lines.
President Trump has consistently championed election integrity as the cornerstone of fair democracy.
Democrats want weak laws, weak prosecutors, and weak enforcement. Republicans want the opposite—because the integrity of American elections demands it.
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