AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton today announced the formation of his 2021 Texas Election Integrity Unit, which is a concentrated effort to devote agency lawyers, investigators, support staff, and resources to ensuring this local election season—which begins with early voting today, Monday, Oct. 18—is run transparently and securely.
According to a press release, the Integrity Unit’s primary function is to serve as a focused resource to both election officials and the public. The agency will also monitor a public email address—electionintegrity2021@oag.texas.gov—to receive information about alleged violations of the Texas Election Code.
Paxton leads an Election Integrity Division year-round. But this 2021 Unit is a dedicated group specially tasked with overseeing the 2021 election season. It is a follow-on program from 2020’s Ballot Fraud Intervention Team.
“The foundation of our constitutional republic is a secure and transparent ballot,” said Paxton. “It is why my office remains ever vigilant in defending the integrity of our elections. And it’s why I’m establishing a 2021 Texas Election Integrity Unit to monitor this season’s local elections—which, even though they’re local, must be run in accordance with state law.”
The press release states that Paxton is a national leader in election integrity. Under his leadership, many elections administrators throughout the state have been held accountable for attempts to bend or break the boundaries of lawful practices. In 2020, for example, the Office of the Attorney General won a dozen critical election-integrity lawsuits, assuring Texans one of the most secure election seasons in the country.
Further, Paxton continues to pursue prosecutions for criminals willing to commit election crimes. Since taking office in 2015, the Attorney General has resolved 286 prosecutions of Texas Election Code criminal offenses against 76 defendants. Attorney General Paxton is currently prosecuting over 500 felony election fraud offenses in Texas courts.