Following the home raids of Latino campaign workers, two elected officials, and a political candidate in Texas, a Latino civil rights organization is calling on the Justice Department to investigate.
The raids were conducted across homes in three counties in connection to a two-year investigation of alleged fraud and voter harvesting, Attorney General Ken Paxton (R-TX) said.
Authorities confiscated cellphones, laptops, and documents in the early morning hours.
Cecily Castellano, a Democratic state House nominee vying for a seat in a swing district, was one of four women whose home was searched. Castellano’s seat has been the target of Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX), who has vowed to flip the seat in an effort to pass his school voucher policy goals.
Castellano told the Washington Post that the early morning raid was a political stunt by the GOP.
“I believe they are afraid they are not going to win this seat,” Castellano said. “To me, it’s a political stunt; they are trying to smear my name.”
Castellano said she didn’t know why her home was searched, but she said her name was mentioned in several affidavits in a vote-harvesting investigation from a nearby county for two years.
Investigators accused campaign workers in Frio County of coercing voters to use mail-in ballots, assisting them in filling out those ballots illegally, and also taking them to the post office without appropriate disclosures.
League of United Latin American Citizens President Roman Palomares called for the Justice Department’s civil rights office to investigate Paxton, who is being accused of weaponizing his power and harassing and intimidating Latino leaders to suppress their work in key districts.
“This is point-blank voter intimidation,” Palomares said during a press conference.
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Three of the women targeted in the raids have volunteered for years to register Latino voters, and they are also certified in Texas to educate people on mail-in ballots.
The investigation is being operated through the Election Integrity Unit formed by Paxton’s office. No charges have been filed by Paxton’s office against those targeted in the home raids, and the people affected by the raid have yet to receive their cellphones back.