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# Federal Judge: Law Behind Bullsh*t ‘Voter Fraud’ Raids Is Unconstitutional
- URL: https://www.thebarbedwire.com/federal-judge-law-behind-bullsht-voter-fraud-raids-is-unconstitutional/
- Published: 2024-09-30T19:21:05.000Z
- Updated: 2024-09-30T19:21:05.000Z
- Author: Brian Gaar
- Tags: News, Ken Paxton

Turns out, it’s not cool — or legal — to raid the homes of people trying to register voters and threaten them with a decade in prison!

A [federal judge has declared](https://www.scribd.com/document/774318815/Federal-Court-Vote-Harvesting-Ruling?ref=thebarbedwire.com#fullscreen&from%5Fembed) that parts of the Texas voter security law are unconstitutional, meaning that our state [can no longer](https://www.newsweek.com/texas-ken-paxton-vote-harvesting-judge-1960891?ref=thebarbedwire.com) kick in people’s doors for the unforgivable sin of helping others vote.

U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez, a rare judge apparently blessed with common sense, found that part of the Texas 2021 omnibus voter legislation is confusing, vague, and overly broad, [the *Texas Tribune* reported](https://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/28/texas-vote-harvesting-law-unconstitutional/?ref=thebarbedwire.com).

Specifically, he concluded [that the law’s restrictions](https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/federal-judge-strikes-down-key-provision-of-texas-omnibus-voter-suppression-law/?ref=thebarbedwire.com) on assisting voters who need help completing or returning their ballots violates the First and 14th Amendments. As the *Tribune* wrote, the ruling “immediately halted the state’s ability to investigate alleged cases of vote harvesting, such as the [investigation](https://www.texastribune.org/2024/08/24/ken-paxton-vote-harvesting-raid-lulac-cecilia-castellano/?ref=thebarbedwire.com) into the League of United Latin American Citizens.”

Previously, our dumb-ass law stated that anyone who provided or offered such services in exchange for compensation could spend up to *ten fucking years in prison*.

“Witnesses were particularly uncertain about how to interpret the terms ‘physical presence’ and ‘compensation’ — neither of which is defined in the statute — and how the Canvassing Restriction impacts organizers’ ability to provide voting assistance during their in-person interactions with voters,” Rodriguez wrote.

This all occurred after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office [raided the homes of Latino Democrats](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/texas-ag-paxton-did-illegal-raids-of-latino-democrat-homes-says-civil-rights-group/) after allegations of so-called “voter fraud.” (There wasn’t any, it was just [some Fox News bullshit](https://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/03/texas-voter-assistance-registration-mail-in-ballots-guide/?ref=thebarbedwire.com) — but in Texas, that’s enough proof for authorities.)

Civil rights organization LULAC said that authorities seized some of its members’ laptops and cell phones — including the phone of a Democratic candidate for the Texas House. Paxton’s office even targeted an 87-year-old San Antonio resident.

Paxton said Monday that he’ll [appeal the ruling](https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-will-continue-defending-texas-election-integrity-law-after-ruling-blocks?ref=thebarbedwire.com) — because of course he will.

“A ruling — weeks prior to an election — preventing my office from investigating potential election violations is deeply troubling and risks undermining public trust in our political process,” he whined in a release.