Latino voting rights group calls for investigation after Texas house raid

AUSTIN, Texas – A Latino voting rights group called for a federal investigation Monday after its volunteers said Texas authorities searched their homes and seized phones and computers as part of an investigation by the state’s Republican attorney general into allegations of voter fraud.

No charges have been filed against any of the victims of the searches that took place in the San Antonio area last week. Attorney General Ken Paxton had previously confirmed that his office conducted searches after a local prosecutor made “allegations of voter fraud and vote gerrymandering” against his office in the 2022 election.

Some volunteers whose homes were searched protested the searches outside a state attorney general’s office in San Antonio. Among them was an 80-year-old woman who told her colleagues that agents were in her home for two hours and took medication as well as her smartphone and watch.

“We feel that our voices are being suppressed,” Roman Palomares, national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said on Monday. “We will get to the bottom of the matter.”

The investigation is part of an election integrity unit Paxton set up in his office. Paxton’s office did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. The federal Justice Department declined to comment.

At least six members had their homes searched, Palomares said. Among them was Manuel Medina, a political consultant from San Antonio. He said his home was searched for several hours while officers seized documents, computers and cellphones. Medina is the former chairman of the Bexar County Democratic Party and works on the campaign of Democratic candidate for the state House of Representatives Cecilia Castellano, whose home was also searched.

Nine officers also entered the home of 80-year-old volunteer Lidia Martinez, who said she was confused as to why they were there.

“They sat me down and started searching my whole house, my closet, my garage, my kitchen, everything,” Martinez said, and questioned her about other members, including Medina.

The search warrant required officers to search all election-related documents and seize Martinez’s devices.

“I’m not doing anything illegal,” Martinez told the agents. “I’m just helping the seniors.”

Voter fraud is rare, usually occurs in isolated cases, and is generally detected. An Associated Press investigation into the 2020 presidential election found fewer than 475 possible cases of voter fraud out of 25.5 million votes cast in the six states where Trump and his allies contested his loss to Democratic President Joe Biden.

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Lathan is a corps member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on issues that aren’t as frequently covered.