AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against a nonprofit organization over allegations that it illegally registered people to vote.
The Jolt Initiative is a grassroots organization aimed at increasing civic engagement among young Latinos in Texas. In a statement issued today, Paxton said his office filed a lawsuit against the group for its role in “coordinating a systematic and illegal voter registration scheme intended to subvert the integrity of elections in Texas and allow illegals to vote.”
The AG’s lawsuit asks the court to dissolve Jolt’s charter and revoke its ability to do business in Texas.
Leaders in Jolt called the lawsuit “unconstitutional” and vowed to fight it.
“The Attorney General is abusing his power by using the state’s statutory tool of dissolution, an extreme measure, against Gault simply because we are effective at registering Latino voters,” Executive Director Jackie Bastard said in the statement. “This is a systematic effort to dismantle the infrastructure of Latino civic engagement in Texas.”
In response, the Jolt Initiative filed a motion asking the court to dismiss the lawsuit or move it to Houston, where Jolt has its offices.
This isn’t the first time this group and Paxton have gone head-to-head. According to reports from the Texas Tribune, Paxton The FBI began investigating Gault and other groups last year after similar allegations spread. The Attorney General demanded documents and information from Jolt, which refused to comply and even sued the state over concerns about putting its workers and volunteers in harm’s way.
The Tribune reported last fall The two sides agreed to pause the case until the courts resolve a separate lawsuit over the tool used by Paxton’s office During the investigation.