AUSTIN, Texas — A Latino voting rights group on Monday called for a federal investigation after its volunteers said Texas authorities raided 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 targets of the raids that took place last week in the San Antonio area. Attorney General Ken Paxton previously confirmed that his office had conducted raids after a local prosecutor informed him of “allegations of voter fraud and ballot harvesting” during the 2022 election.
Some volunteers whose homes were searched, including an 80-year-old woman who told associates that officers were in her home for two hours and took medications, along with her smartphone and watch, protested outside the attorney general’s office in San Antonio against the searches.
“We feel like our votes are being suppressed,” Roman Palomares, national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said Monday. “We are going to get to the bottom of this.”
The investigation is part of an Election Integrity Unit that Paxton formed 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. They included Manuel Medina, a political consultant from San Antonio, who said his home was raided for several hours as agents seized documents, computers and cellphones. Medina is the former head of the Bexar County Democratic Party and is working on the campaign of Democratic state House candidate Cecilia Castellano, whose home was also raided.
Nine officers also entered the home of volunteer Lidia Martinez, 80, who said she expressed confusion about why they were there.
“They sat me down and started searching my entire house, my cellar, my garage, kitchen, everything,” Martinez said, and questioned her about other members, including Medina.
The search warrant ordered officials to search for any election-related documents and seize Martinez’s devices.
“I’m not doing anything illegal,” Martinez told officers. “All I’m doing is helping seniors.”
Electoral fraud is rare, occurs in isolated cases and is usually detected. An Associated Press investigation The 2020 presidential election results found fewer than 475 potential 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.
