Texas AG pushed to rescind Houston virus relief funding

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asked Trump administration officials to rescind federal virus relief funding that Houston used to expand people's voting options, according to a document revealed Tuesday.

In a May 21 letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Paxton accused officials in Harris County, which includes Houston, of misusing up to $12 million of the federal funding and violating state law with their plans to expand the use of mail-in ballots for the presidential election.

“We respectfully ask the department to scrutinize its award of CARES Act funding to Harris County in light of the county’s stated intent to use federal funding in violation of state law, and to the extent possible, seek return of any amounts improperly spent on efforts to promote illegal mail-in voting,” Paxton wrote. “Without implementing adequate protections against unlawful abuse of mail-in ballots, the department could be cast in a position of involuntarily facilitating election fraud.”

The Washington-based Citizens For Responsibility and Ethics obtained and published the letter, in what has become the latest example of the Republican attorney general's efforts to keep in place Texas' strict rules requiring most voters to cast ballots in-person, even during a pandemic.

Harris County Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria said the way the money was used helped protect elections workers and voters from the coronavirus. Some people used a drive-thru option to vote, others stood in socially distanced lines, and some polling places were open for 24 hours.

“Just as intended, voters had more options to vote without jeopardizing their health," Longoria said in a statement. "We invested in public safety that resulted in record voter turnout. We’re proud to show Ken Paxton what it looks like to invest...