Amidst an investigation into noncitizens being registered to vote outside the agency’s offices around the state, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety told his staff last night he was “temporarily” prohibiting such activities.
Sources inside DPS told Texas Scorecard this morning that Steve McCraw’s brief note came in the wake of an investigation being launched by Attorney General Ken Paxton. One source, who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media, said DPS management had tacitly allowed several groups to engage in such activities despite voter registration being intertwined with applying for or renewing a driver’s license under a 1993 federal law.
DPS’ media department did not respond to a request for comment. This article will be updated as necessary to reflect the agency’s official position.
Sent via email to an internet email list “GRP_DPS Everyone,” McCraw’s two-sentence order is as follows:
Due to an ongoing investigation by the Office of Attorney General into potential unauthorized use of DPS property for noncitizen voter registration, all organizations are temporarily prohibited from operating on DPS property. Any gatherings will require approval from the Director’s Office until further notice.
A second DPS source said the director was “angry” that Paxton’s office was investigating the matter and had publicly announced it. The source did not know who gave permission for the outside groups to do voter registration drives at locations around the state, but some in the headquarters and around the state had expressed concern about it.
Under the 1993 Motor Voter Act, states are required to offer voter registration services when individuals apply for or renew their driver’s licenses. The second source said staff were confused about why voter registration was taking place by organizations seemingly driven by a political agenda when the agency itself provided that service but within the strict confines of the law.
Paxton said Wednesday his office had conducted “undercover operations” to ascertain the extent of “nonprofit organizations” registering noncitizens to vote outside DPS offices.
“If eligible citizens can legally register to vote when conducting their business at a DPS office, why would they need a second opportunity to register with a booth outside?” asked Paxton in a press release issued by his office.
In an interview with Chris Salcedo on Thursday morning, Gov. Greg Abbott expressed his support for Paxton’s investigation, saying he met on Wednesday with Paxton and his staff to “ensure that we have integrity at the ballot box and we eliminate illegal voting.”
“It starts with the registration process. And obviously what was happening at the DPS offices was completely wrong and was set up in a way where it could have been registering people illegally, so first step is to shut down things like that,” said Abbott.
In a statement to Texas Scorecard, Paxton said, “This is an ongoing investigation and we cannot provide more information at this time. It is encouraging that these booths are now prohibited from operating on DPS property.”
Abbott’s office did not respond to requests for comment on McCraw’s email.
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