Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has prioritized the aggressive investigation of election fraud during his tenure, may have violated state election laws by registering to vote and casting ballots using an address where he reportedly does not reside. Records and reporting indicate that Paxton continued to list a Collin County residence on his voter registration for at least two years after moving out, casting ballots in six separate elections from that address, including the May runoff that made him the Republican nominee for U.S. senator.
Under Texas law, the act of knowingly or intentionally voting in an election while ineligible is classified as a second-degree felony, carrying potential penalties of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $10,000. While state election law allows voters to maintain a registration if an absence from their residence is temporary and they intend to return, legal experts suggest that Paxton’s public separation from his wife, State Senator Angela Paxton, complicates the claim of residency at their former shared home.
The Tip Line and the Attorney General’s Guidance
In February, two weeks before the Texas primary elections, the Office of the Attorney General launched a public tip line specifically designed to report suspected voter fraud. In a press release announcing the initiative, Paxton stated, “Free and fair elections are a cornerstone of a thriving republic, and with the authority granted to my office by the Legislature, we will stop at nothing to uncover and stop any illegal voting activity.”
The office’s official guidance, linked in the announcement, explicitly warned against residency manipulation. The document stated, “You must register to vote using the address where you reside,” and further cautioned that “it is illegal to misrepresent your residence on election records or to establish a residence for the purpose of influencing the outcome of an election.”
Residency Challenges and Legal Standards
The determination of legal residence in Texas is often fact-intensive. State courts have held that there is no single test for residency, requiring judges to weigh factors such as where a voter sleeps, keeps personal belongings, and maintains their daily life. Prosecuting residency fraud requires proving that a voter “knowingly” or “intentionally” violated the law, a standard that election law experts note is difficult for prosecutors to meet.
Beth Stevens, an election lawyer with experience in the Harris County clerk’s office and the Texas Civil Rights Project, noted that while the law provides flexibility for those with temporary absences—such as military personnel or college students—the threshold is crossed when a voter has permanently relocated. “When you start doing things that suggest, ‘Oh, I’ve fully moved. I’m just wink-wink saying I intend to return,’ that’s when you get into questionable territory,” Stevens said.
David Becker, former voting rights counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice, argued that the optics of the situation are problematic for the state’s chief law enforcement officer. “Certainly, the chief law enforcement officer of the state of Texas, someone who has made claims about election integrity and made it a priority of his office, should be charged with knowing the laws of residencies of the state of Texas with regard to voting,” Becker said.
Evidence of Relocation and Campaign Response
According to a 2025 divorce filing by Angela Paxton, the attorney general moved out of their Collin County home a year prior to the filing. While the home remains listed on his voter registration, reporting has linked Paxton to a property in Denton County since February. Property records show a trust purchased a $2.4 million home in a gated community in Denton County in mid-February, and the address for a blind trust shared by the Paxtons was updated to that location shortly thereafter.
When questioned about the discrepancy, campaign spokesperson Madison Cercy declined to address the specific residency questions. Instead, she issued a statement defending the Attorney General’s record: “The attorney general has been a national leader on election integrity, with a long record of defending Texas elections. Attempting to insinuate otherwise and tear him down with a baseless, lie-filled tabloid story is not real reporting.”
Past Enforcement Actions
Paxton’s office has previously pursued criminal charges against individuals accused of falsifying their residential addresses for voting purposes. In 2018, his voter fraud unit arrested nine people in Edinburg, Texas, on allegations of using false residential addresses to vote in a municipal election. Those charges were later dismissed by county prosecutors after they were unable to secure a conviction against the mayoral candidate accused of orchestrating the scheme.
Clark Birdsall, a defense attorney who previously represented a client in a case prosecuted by Paxton’s office for illegal voting, expressed concern regarding the current situation. “It’s especially egregious that someone such as Ken Paxton appears he’s not conforming to the law,” Birdsall said.
As of late June, Paxton remained registered at the Collin County address. There have been no announcements from state or local authorities regarding an official investigation into his voter registration status. Interested parties can monitor the Texas Secretary of State’s website for official updates on election law and voter registration requirements.