Via email:

Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, issued the following statement in response to an announcement made by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton regarding alleged non-U.S. citizens on the state’s registration rolls:

“Advancing exaggerated claims of vote fraud has become the latest go-to tactic employed by those who seek to lay the groundwork for unnecessary and discriminatory voter suppression measures.  We are highly skeptical of Attorney General Paxton’s latest claims that come fully unsubstantiated and devoid of context. Similar claims made by election officials have been advanced with fanfare and bluster, only to be proven false in the end.”

Clarke continued: “In this current environment, one of the unfortunate consequences of this kind of announcement is the chilling effect on the electorate, particularly among communities of color. By advancing these spurious claims, without an iota of supporting evidence, Paxton’s statement undermines public confidence in our democracy.”