James Talarico Accuses Ken Paxton of Voter Fraud in Texas Senate Race

Texas state Rep. James Talarico, challenging Attorney General Ken Paxton in the U.S. Senate race to replace retiring Sen. John Cornyn, has accused his Republican rival of committing voter fraud. Talarico’s allegations follow investigative reports published by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune revealing that Paxton moved out of the residence he shared with his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, in 2024, yet continued casting ballots from that address across six consecutive elections, including the March Republican primary.

The controversy thrusts the state’s top law enforcement official into an unprecedented legal and political clash over residency rules that he has long vowed to enforce strictly. While three election experts told news organizations that Paxton may have violated state election laws, the Collin County Democratic Party has formally petitioned the Texas secretary of state to launch an immediate investigation.

“As our state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton has gone on a voter fraud witch hunt,” James Talarico said during a campaign event in Houston, according to reports by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune. “Turns out, he was committing voter fraud the whole time, voting illegally in six elections in a row from the wrong address.”

Residency Questions and Legal Scrutiny

Under Texas election statutes, voters are permitted to cast ballots temporarily using an address where they no longer reside only if they maintain a clear intent to return. Legal experts evaluating Paxton’s case noted that establishing such intent is exceptionally difficult given his ongoing and public divorce from Angela Paxton. Valid legal exceptions typically include serving in the military or attending an out-of-area university, neither of which applies to the sitting attorney general.

Southern Methodist University political science professor Cal Jillson noted that the allegations resonate deeply because they feed into prior controversies surrounding Paxton’s tenure. Jillson pointed to the 2023 Texas Legislature impeachment proceedings, where the state House brought charges of bribery and corruption against Paxton before the state Senate ultimately voted to acquit him.

“There’s been a whole series of legal challenges he’s been able to slip out of, but voters are at least vaguely aware of them,” Jillson said, describing the latest voting disclosures as “just another example of playing fast and loose with a law you must be familiar with as attorney general.”

Political Fallout and Campaign Clashes

Paxton has consistently declined to address questions regarding his voter registration status or residential moves. During a rare news conference in which he highlighted endorsements from nearly two dozen sheriffs, Paxton shifted focus to attack Talarico as being soft on crime. Talarico countered during a subsequent press conference on Wednesday, pointing to his legislative record of voting for multi-billion-dollar law enforcement funding packages.

When pressed by a political writer from The Dallas Morning News regarding his Collin County voting record, Paxton shook his head silently while a campaign aide intervened, stating, “We’re just going to answer questions on law enforcement today.” Neither Paxton’s official state office nor his campaign team responded to follow-up inquiries from reporters regarding the residency questions or Talarico’s allegations.

Jon Taylor, a political science professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, argued that the silence from state leadership highlights a troubling double standard. Taylor pointed out the sharp contrast between aggressive state rhetoric prioritizing election security and the apparent hesitation among officials to scrutinize allegations directed at the state’s chief legal officer.

“You push the idea that you’re going to be really tough on election wrongdoing, and yet here you are with allegations in which you seem to be uninterested in pursuing,” Taylor said. “That smacks of rank hypocrisy.”

State Investigation Status and Next Steps

The formal complaint filed by the Collin County Democratic Party remains under administrative review. Under Texas statute, the secretary of state is required to promptly forward complaints to the attorney general’s office if reasonable cause exists to suspect criminal conduct occurred.

The administrative timeline has added further procedural hurdles. Secretary of State Jane Nelson stepped down from her post, and Governor Greg Abbott appointed senior adviser Robert Howden as her successor. Mary Higbe, vice chair of the Collin County Democratic Party, confirmed that a staff attorney within the secretary of state’s office informed her via email that the complaint remains under active review.

It remains undetermined whether the attorney general’s office will acknowledge receipt of the complaint or recuse itself by appointing an independent special prosecutor to investigate potential wrongdoing within its own leadership. Further developments depend on official disclosures from the Texas Secretary of State’s office as legal reviewers evaluate the filing.