Texas Nonprofit Seeks TRO Against Paxton Voter Registration Intimidation

From the Texas Tribune:

A nonprofit focused on increasing Latinos’ civic participation sued Attorney General Ken Paxton in federal court Friday so it could continue its voter registration efforts after the Republican official targeted them in an investigation last month.  The organization Jolt said in its request for a temporary restraining order that Paxton’s investigation would irreparably harm the organization and its associates by disclosing personal information and potentially placing its workers, volunteers and associates in harm’s way.

“If Jolt were forced to disclose confidential information to the Attorney General, it would be considered a betrayal of the trust that Jolt has earned from the Texas Latino community,” the organization’s lawyer, Mimi Marziani, wrote in the lawsuit. “It would make it more difficult for Jolt to associate with others and carry out its mission effectively, and it would likely put Jolt employees and others associated with the organization in danger.”  The background: Jolt’s lawsuit comes as Paxton, a Republican, has tried to bolster unfounded claims that Democrats are allowing noncitizens into the country so they can vote in large numbers. It also follows unprecedented attempts to investigate or shut down nonprofit social aid organizations that assist migrants and Latinos.  Last month, Paxton announced that his office was investigating whether organizations in Texas were “unlawfully registering noncitizens to vote” after FOX News host Maria Bartiromo had posted on social media that someone had seen organizations in Parker County and Fort Worth registering “immigrants” to vote.

The elections administrator and Republican County Chair in Parker County had told news outlets there was no evidence to support the charge. Experts say there is no evidence that people who aren’t U.S. citizens vote in elections in mass numbers. And before someone is allowed to vote, local and Texas officials verify their eligibility.

Read the JOLT complaint. Here are a few excerpts:

28. On August 18, 2024, a television personality with a history of promoting conspiracy theories posted on X that people who were ineligible to vote were being registered at locations in and around Fort Worth. See Maria Bartiromo (@MariaBartiromo), X (Aug. 18, 2024, 9:56 AM), https://perma.cc/B7MD-PRKC; see Berenice Garcia, A Fox News Host’s Debunked Election Conspiracy Appears to Have Prompted a State Investigation, Tex. Trib. (Aug. 26, 2024), https://perma.cc/9PM6-H9YS.

29. Both the Parker County Republican chair and election administrator said there was no evidence to support the charge. See Garcia, supra; Brady Gray (@Brady_Gray), X (Aug. 19, 2024, 10:12 PM), https://x.com/Brady_Gray/status/1825717561054376102. 

30. Two days later, a self-described “citizen journalist” and “Alpha MAGA Male” posted a video on X in which he purported to confront a Jolt VDR outside of a Texas Department of Public Safety office. See hernando arce (@hernandoarce), X (Aug. 20, 2024, 1:53 PM), https://x.com/hernandoarce/status/1825954284858417608. The post said, “we have Marxist non profit organizations like @JoltAction infiltrating Texas @TxDPS locations in San Antonio,” and it tagged @KenPaxtonTx, among others. Id.

31. The video depicts no illegal activity or evidence of wrongdoing.

32. After the video was posted, people on social media made violent and threatening posts about Jolt and its VDRs.

33. For example, in a reply to the video depicting a Jolt VDR, one X user posted: “TARGET PRACTICE.” Coonass69 (@coonass70), X (Aug. 22, 2024, 8:16 AM), https://perma.cc/6ELX-5DY7.

34. In response to a post from an activist saying he is “continu[ing] my hunt for Marxist Anti American organizations like @JoltAction,” an X user replied: I too want to go hunting these scum.” Mr. Super Angry (@1AlphaOmega66), X (Sept. 5, 2024, 9:08 AM), https://perma.cc/2F9L-2XR6. Another person replied to post the name and LinkedIn profile of a Jolt Action board member. See Robert Johnson (@jdata17), X (Sept. 4, 2024, 9:48 PM), https://perma.cc/4DDH-X5R3.

This, and the Lazy Eyed Cowboy behind it all, make for good laughs and a lot of jovial backslapping in smoke-filled rooms, I bet.  Except that Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner aren't laughing.  

darryll k. jones