First posted on Instagram
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Saturday that his office has arrested convicted felons accused of casting ballots illegally in Texas, three days before the November 3 midterm elections.
According to the attorney general's office, the investigation began on October 27, when a concerned citizen reported that convicted felons who were incarcerated, on parole or on probation had allegedly voted in Harris County, and supplied what the office described as open-source information.
Investigators in the office's Election Integrity Unit verified the identities of the individuals, reviewed their voter registration records and examined whether they had cast ballots in the 2026 election. The names were then referred to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which confirmed that multiple individuals were on parole when they voted, making them ineligible to vote under Texas law.
Arrest warrants were issued on October 30 in Montgomery County, and officers from the attorney general's office subsequently arrested the individuals. KTRH reported that the arrests took place on Friday in Montgomery County, north of Houston, and that the ballots in question were cast during early voting.
"Today, my office arrested convicted felons for voting illegally in Texas," Paxton said in the announcement. "My Election Integrity Unit is actively investigating additional reports of election crimes. We will continue working to protect the lawful votes of Texans."
The attorney general's office did not say how many people were arrested, did not name them, did not list the charges and did not say who will prosecute the cases. KTRH described "several arrests."
Under Texas law, people with felony convictions regain the right to vote once they have completed their sentences, including parole and probation. Knowingly voting before then is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Paxton, the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate, announced the arrests as his Senate race enters its final days; the most recent University of Houston poll puts the race within the margin of error.