Ken Paxton Under Fire As He Dodges Questions On Voter Fraud Allegations

MS NOW: “It turns out that whether or not Ken Paxton has shacked up with this woman in a love nest may actually matter [...] because of where he is registered to vote”

AUSTIN, TX — Ken Paxton is facing questions about whether he committed a second-degree felony after the bombshell ProPublica and the Texas Tribune report that Paxton likely committed voter fraud in up to six recent elections. 

MS NOW reported how Paxton’s extramarital affair matters, “because of where he is registered to vote.” Even while Paxton hides, many have highlighted the “especially egregious” hypocrisy given that “Paxton, as the state's chief elections enforcement officer, should know the state's voting residency laws.”

“Neither Paxton nor his team has offered any evidence” to contradict the reporting. Voting in an election when the voter is ineligible is a second-degree felony under Texas law punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. 

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MS Now: Texas’ Paxton faces new voter registration questions, adding to his list of controversies

By Steve Benen

July 8, 2026

• On Capitol Hill, Democratic and Republican officials may not agree on much, but there’s at least one area of common ground: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is one scandal-plagued Senate candidate.

• Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said in May that Paxton “could reasonably be indicted for a felony.” Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine has described Paxton as “an ethically challenged individual.” Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina added, “To call Paxton ethically challenged is to call Jeffrey Dahmer suffering from an eating disorder.”

• That his list of controversies continues to grow isn’t helping matters for the GOP’s Senate nominee in the Lone Star State.

• When it comes to Paxton’s real estate holdings, the Republican has already faced difficult questions about why he and his now-estranged wife declared three separate homes as their primary residence in mortgage documents, a practice his party has characterized as scandalous and potentially criminal.

• This week, a related problem emerged. ProPublica and The Texas Tribune reported:

• Paxton appears to have used an address where he did not live while voting in six elections in the past two years, including in May’s runoff that made him the Republican nominee for U.S. senator, according to records obtained by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune.

• This might not seem especially notable, except for the fact that Paxton, just months earlier, reminded Texans that under state law, “You must register to vote using the address where you reside.”

• In fact, the report added, “Three election lawyers told the news organizations that Paxton may have violated the same Texas laws his office cautioned about in its news release.”

• At least so far, neither Paxton nor his team has offered any evidence to suggest the underlying allegations are baseless or false, and they’ve pointed to no inaccuracies in the reporting.

• Given the Senate hopeful’s long list of scandals, he really didn’t need a new problem. With 17 weeks remaining before Election Day, he appears to have one anyway.

Dallas Morning News: Paxton accused of voting past two years from a Collin County address after moving

July 7, 2026

• Attorney General Ken Paxton appears to have voted in six elections in the past two years using the address of a Collin County home where he no longer lived, according to a report Tuesday by The Texas Tribune and ProPublica.

• The report stated that Paxton, now the Republican Senate nominee, continued to vote using the address after his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, said in a 2025 divorce filing that he had moved out of the home a year earlier. 

• His living arrangements since then appear to be tied to a home in neighboring Denton County, though his voter registration was never updated, the news outlets said.

• Three election lawyers said Paxton may have violated Texas law, which requires voters to register where they reside. Paxton's office has repeatedly warned Texans “it is illegal to misrepresent your residence on election records.”

• Paxton's campaign called the report “a baseless, lie-filled tabloid story” and praised his record on election integrity. The campaign did not identify any factual inaccuracies after being asked by the news organizations.

• Paxton voted in six elections in the past two years from the Collin County address after he had reportedly moved out. That included the GOP Senate runoff in May. 

• Paxton appears to be connected to a Denton County home purchased by a trust earlier this year, though the attorney general is not registered to vote in Denton County. 

• The trust did not disclose its ownership to Denton County officials, and it is not required to do so. A recent podcast video showed Paxton inside what appeared to be the home during an interview.

• Angela Paxton said through a spokesperson that she has no connection to the Denton County home or the trust that purchased it. 

• Paxton has made election integrity a signature issue as attorney general, creating a voter fraud tip line this year and previously prosecuting cases involving alleged false voting addresses. 

• David Becker, a former U.S. Justice Department voting rights lawyer who now leads the Center for Election Innovation and Research, said Paxton, as the state's chief elections enforcement officer, should know the state's voting residency laws.

• “There would be questions raised about a residence where someone does not live, does not spend the night and can in no way have the intent to continue to reside. Those would probably raise red flags in any state,” Becker said.

• Voting in an election when the voter is ineligible is generally a second-degree felony in Texas, carrying a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

The New Republic: Ken Paxton Allegedly Committed Voter Fraud Six Times

July 7, 2026

By Edith Olmsted

• The voter fraud call was coming from inside the house, it seems.

• Election experts are raising serious red flags after learning that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton voted in six elections while registered at an address where he does not live, ProPublica reported Tuesday.

• The Texas attorney general has been registered to vote at his Collin County home—where he has not lived since his divorce two years ago, according to filings by his ex-wife, State Senator Angela Paxton.

• It’s not entirely clear where Mr. Paxton has resided since, but prior reporting linked him to another home in Denton County—making him ineligible to participate in elections in Collin County. Doing so is a second-degree felony punishable by a fine up to $10,000 and up to 20 years in prison. 

• Voter rolls showed that Paxton voted in Collin County in the March Republican primary, and again in May when he became his party’s nominee for the U.S. Senate.

• David Becker, a former voting rights lawyer, told ProPublica that Paxton would be allowed to remain registered there if he had a reasonable expectation of returning, but his contentious and highly publicized split from his ex-wife suggests that is not the case.

• “I think there would be questions raised about a residence where someone does not live, does not spend the night, and can in no way have the intent to continue to reside,” Becker said. “Those would probably raise red flags in any state.”

• “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.

• Forget “knowing”—Paxton’s office published the very guidelines he broke. When Paxton announced the creation of a tip line for suspected voter fraud in February, he shared guidelines for voter registration, including the requirement to “provide the address where you reside when registering to vote.”

• Attorney Clark Birdsall told ProPublica that it was “especially egregious that someone such as Ken Paxton appears he’s not conforming to the law.”

• Paxton, a fierce ally of President Trump, has previously advocated for cracking down on voter fraud, while also threatening to disenfranchise Democratic voters.

• The attorney general’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment from ProPublica and The Texas Tribune.

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