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California Attorney General Rob Bonta today joined a multi-state coalition in a letter requesting the U.S. Department of Justice (US DOJ) open an investigation into recent raids by the Texas Attorney General's Office targeting Latino voting rights organizers, candidates for public office, and community volunteers.
The above, to determine whether these raids constitute violations of civil rights, including the right to vote.
Under the pretext of monitoring unfounded claims of voter fraud, the Texas Attorney General's Office raided the homes of Latino candidates and voting rights organizers and seized property from the homes of elderly volunteers.
Bonta said these raids targeting minority voters, weeks before early voting, hurt all Americans by causing confusion, sowing fear and suppressing turnout.
The letter requests the US DOJ's Civil Rights Division to investigate the Texas raids to determine whether they constitute civil rights violations.
"Using fear and baseless accusations to attack people of color is unacceptable and un-American," Bonta said.
"I am committed to defending the civil rights of all Americans, particularly as it relates to the fundamental right to vote. Our democracy is stronger when everyone participates, and they must be able to do so free from fear and intimidation. My office is prepared to protect the rights of all voters," she added.
The letter stresses that there is very little actual evidence of voter fraud anywhere in the United States and notes that the raids are "just the latest iteration of a long-standing pattern of using unfounded allegations of voter fraud to intimidate voters of color."
The letter also notes that the Texas raids took place as the country is currently “awash with attempts to set the stage for false accusations that the upcoming election is fraudulent.”
Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of New York, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and the District of Columbia.
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