Texas GOP Wants AG to Police Local Elections -- Here's Why People Are Concerned

Texas Capitol Building
Photo by Trac Vu on Unsplash.
Folakemi ElekolusiFolakemi Elekolusi
Published: 15 Aug, 2025
3 min read

AUSTIN, Texas - A familiar fight resurfacing in Texas politics: who gets to decide when election-related crimes should be prosecuted — the local district attorney, whose office sits in the community, or the state attorney general in Austin?

The short version: after a years-long legal tug-of-war, the Texas Legislature is again weighing legislation that would restore the attorney general’s power to investigate and, in certain circumstances, prosecute election-law violations that local prosecutors decline to pursue.

Supporters say it’s about holding corrupt officials accountable. Critics say it puts a politically powerful office in the business of supervising — and potentially overriding — locally elected prosecutors, and that could chill community voting efforts.

A quick backstory. The controversy traces to a high-profile case that began when local prosecutors in Jefferson County declined to bring charges related to alleged campaign finance violations. The Texas attorney general’s office stepped in, convened a grand jury in another county, and indictments followed. 

The case eventually landed at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. In December 2021, the court pushed back: it held that the Legislature could not lawfully give the attorney general unilateral authority to initiate prosecutions in district and county courts. This decision undercut the AG’s ability to step into local election matters without following a different, constitutionally permissible path.

Fast forward to the present special legislative session that began in late July 2025: Rep. Andy Hopper filed House Bill 98 and a proposed constitutional amendment to address the court’s ruling.

The bill would let judges disqualify a local prosecutor who “consistently refuses or declines to prosecute” election-law violations and then allow the attorney general to step in. Gov. Greg Abbott put a constitutional amendment to clarify the attorney general’s authority on his special-session agenda, and the Legislature has filed bills and a joint resolution that would permit the attorney general to act in limited circumstances. 

Supporters — including Attorney General Ken Paxton and many Republican lawmakers — frame the issue as one of accountability. Their pitch is that when a local district attorney refuses to act against election fraud or corruption, the state needs a backstop. If the goal is to prevent elected officials from using their office to cheat or intimidate voters, they argue, empowering the AG is a necessary check.

IVP Donate

Opponents, including Texas Democrats and civil-rights and voting-rights groups, warn that the proposals could intimidate voters and undermine local prosecutorial independence.

Latino civil-rights groups and voting-rights advocates have accused recent statewide election probes and search warrants carried out by the attorney general’s office of disproportionately targeting Latino community leaders and volunteers — charges the attorney general’s office denies. Critics say expanded prosecutorial authority could chill community-based voter turnout work.

There’s also a local-sovereignty argument here. Traditionally, district attorneys are accountable to voters in their counties and generally set prosecutorial priorities based on local circumstances. Sharply empowering the state AG to second-guess those decisions shifts that balance, and opponents worry it will weaken the community’s voice in how laws are enforced.

This is happening fast. The first special session has just adjourned, and the second special session begins today. Governor Abbott issued a proclamation identifying 19 agenda items for Special Session #2 that include this legislation. Any constitutional amendment would then have to go to voters. If passed in statute, the proposed changes would take effect September 1, 2025. 

So, what should you watch for in the coming weeks? Look for whether the House bill advances out of committee, whether a constitutional amendment clears the Legislature, and how vocal local prosecutors and civil-rights groups are at public hearings. Also watch for messaging from the governor and the attorney general: how they frame “accountability” matters — is it a neutral legal fix or a partisan weapon?

Bottom line: this debate is about more than technical legal authority. As lawmakers tinker with the levers of enforcement, the stakes are both legal and deeply political — and they’re worth paying attention to, whether your home county is blue, red, or somewhere in between.

 

Let Us Vote : Sign Now!

About The Authors

Folakemi Elekolusi is an undergraduate at the University of Texas at Austin and a fellow at Better Choices for Democracy. Her coauthor, Carah Ong Whaley, is executive director at Better Choices for Democracy.

In this article

You Might Also Like

California Cuts Cannabis Taxes as DEA Targets Vapes and Congress Tries to Block Rescheduling
California Cuts Cannabis Taxes as DEA Targets Vapes and Congress Tries to Block Rescheduling
The landscape for cannabis in the United States continues to shift on multiple fronts, with recent developments spanning state tax relief, federal enforcement, and congressional roadblocks to reform....
26 Sep, 2025
-
5 min read
Will the Texas Republican Party be Successful Where the Hawaiian Democratic Party Failed?
Will the Texas Republican Party be Successful Where the Hawaiian Democratic Party Failed?
The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) is suing Secretary of State Jane Nelson in an effort to close the state’s primary elections to party members only – a move that the Democratic Party of Hawaii (DPH) tried back in 2013 in its state and failed. ...
05 Sep, 2025
-
3 min read
Gerrymandering Wars Escalate Beyond Texas and California: A National Race to the Bottom?
Gerrymandering Wars Escalate Beyond Texas and California: A National Race to the Bottom?
Republicans currently hold a narrow 219 to 212 edge over Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, with four vacancies: three from Democratic members who have died and one from a Republican who has resigned. This is the smallest House majority held by either party in nearly a century. The razor-thin margin means the stakes in the 2026 midterms could not be higher. With so few competitive seats left nationwide, both parties are turning to mid-decade redistricting as a way to secure advantages....
27 Aug, 2025
-
10 min read
SQ836 supporters
Oklahoma GOP Fails To Block Open Primaries Initiative from Going Before Voters
The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously rejected a challenge to a proposed ballot initiative that would open taxpayer-funded primary elections to all candidates and voters, regardless of party affiliation – paving the way for the signature petition process to begin....
17 Sep, 2025
-
4 min read
Supreme Court of the United States
Forward Party Joins Petition to SCOTUS Against State of Florida
Right now, the divide between the Republican and Democratic Parties appears beyond repair. The political rhetoric is toxic, the nation’s leadership puts party gain before lasting solutions, and few voters actually feel heard by the people elected to represent them. At a time when it seems things will only get worse from here, the Independent Voter Project filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court along with Open Primaries and the Forward Party in support of a lawsuit that targets one of the biggest culprits behind all of this....
16 Sep, 2025
-
3 min read
congress flag
Poll: 82% of Americans Want Redistricting Done by Independent Commission, Not Politicians
There may be no greater indication that voters are not being listened to in the escalating redistricting war between the Republican and Democratic Parties than a new poll from NBC News that shows 8-in-10 Americans want the parties to stop....
10 Sep, 2025
-
3 min read