AUSTIN – Texas officials are defending the state’s election security laws as the Trump administration presses states to tighten voting rules through criminal warnings and the threat of withholding federal grant money.
The Justice Department recently told election officials in all 50 states, including Texas, they could face criminal charges if they knowingly allow noncitizens or other ineligible voters to remain on voter rolls.
At the same time, the Federal Emergency Management Agency warned states they could lose a portion of anti-terrorism grant funding unless they meet new election-related requirements.
Whether Texas would have to make any changes to qualify for the funding remains unclear.
Gov. Greg Abbott’s office said Texas already has strict voter eligibility and citizenship verification requirements under state law. His spokesman pointed to more than 1 million ineligible voters, including thousands of noncitizens, that it said have been removed from the rolls through the state’s maintenance process.
“Texas will continue working with the Department of Justice to ensure only eligible citizens vote and strengthen public confidence in our elections,” Abbott spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said.
The Justice Department’s letter, sent to Secretary of State Jane Nelson and election officials nationwide, requested a response within five days. Texas had not yet responded Thursday but plans to do so, agency spokeswoman Alicia Pierce said.
The new FEMA conditions include verifying the citizenship of registered voters and requiring hand-marked paper ballots instead of electronic voting systems that tabulate votes using barcodes or QR codes. Texas already uses paper ballots that can be audited, according to Abbott’s office.
Texas Democrats criticized the FEMA requirements, saying the administration cannot lawfully condition anti-terrorism funding on election policy changes.
“Threatening to withhold critical anti-terrorism funding from Texas is blatantly illegal and a new low even for this administration,” said Terri Burke, the executive director of the Texas Democratic Party.
In recent months, Trump also has pressed Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote. The measure lacks the votes to advance in the Senate.