Two weeks prior to the primary elections this year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the establishment of a tip line that invites the public to report any individuals or organizations suspected of engaging in voter fraud.
“Free and fair elections are the foundation of a thriving republic, and with the authority bestowed upon my office by the Legislature, we will relentlessly pursue and prevent any illegal voting activities,” Paxton stated in a February press release regarding the tip line.
The announcement was accompanied by guidelines from his office concerning Texas election laws, outlining requirements such as U.S. citizenship, a ban on collecting mail ballots for others, and a caution that “it is illegal to misrepresent your residence on election records or to establish a residence for the purpose of influencing election outcomes.”
“You must register to vote using the address where you reside,” the attorney general’s guidelines emphasized.
Contradicting his own warnings, evidence suggests that Paxton has utilized an address where he does not actually reside while voting in six elections over the past two years, including the May runoff that positioned him as the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, based on documents acquired by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune.
State Senator Angela Paxton indicated in a divorce filing from 2025 that her husband, whom she accused of infidelity, left their home in Collin County a year prior. Despite this, Paxton continues to use the address of their Collin County residence for his voter registration. Angela Paxton declined to comment, but a source familiar with the situation stated that the attorney general has not returned to the home since his departure.
While the specifics of Paxton’s living situation over the last two years remain unclear, investigations by ProPublica and the Tribune have connected him to a property in neighboring Denton County since February.
Three election law experts informed the news organizations that Paxton may have breached the same Texas laws his office warned others about in the announcement.
ProPublica and the Tribune attempted to contact Paxton’s campaign on June 3, 15, and 25, seeking clarification on why he is still registered in Collin County despite appearing to no longer reside there, as well as details regarding his connection to the Denton County property. A voicemail was also left on his personal cellphone on June 25. On Monday, the news organizations sent an email to his government office and campaign staff with a comprehensive list of questions, including a request for Paxton’s response to the election lawyers’ assertion that he may be violating the law.
After not responding until Monday’s email, campaign spokesperson Madison Cercy did not address the inquiries from the news organizations. Instead, she issued a statement asserting that the attorney general is “a national leader on election integrity, with a longstanding record of defending Texas elections.” She further claimed that “attempting to insinuate otherwise and undermine him with a baseless, lie-filled tabloid story is not genuine reporting.”
When asked twice to specify the inaccuracies they believed existed, the campaign did not provide a response.
Voting while ineligible is classified as a second-degree felony under Texas law, carrying a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. However, election lawyers noted that prosecutors rarely pursue cases challenging individual voters’ residency claims due to the difficulty of proving such cases.
State courts have consistently ruled that there is no singular method for determining a person’s residence, requiring judges to consider various factors, including where a voter sleeps or keeps their belongings. Prosecuting cases of this nature also necessitates demonstrating that a voter “knowingly” or “intentionally” violated the law.
Even if it is evident that an individual does not inhabit the address where they are registered, state law permits them to remain registered if their absence is temporary and they intend to return. This provision is often utilized by college students and military personnel.
“As long as you genuinely intend to return, I believe you are fine,” said Beth Stevens, an election lawyer with experience working for the Harris County clerk and the Texas Civil Rights Project. “The issues arise when actions suggest, ‘Oh, I’ve completely moved. I’m just pretending I intend to return,’ which leads to questionable circumstances.”
Paxton’s highly publicized and contentious separation from his wife could complicate his argument regarding the intent to return to the home they share, where she continues to live, according to David Becker, a former voting rights attorney for the Justice Department.
“There would undoubtedly be questions raised about a residence where someone does not live or spend nights and can hardly claim intent to continue residing,” Becker stated. “Such circumstances would likely raise red flags in any jurisdiction.”
Becker, now the director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, highlighted the problematic nature of Paxton’s situation, given his role in enforcing election laws.
“Certainly, the chief law enforcement officer of Texas, someone who has prioritized election integrity, should be well-versed in the state’s residency laws regarding voting,” Becker remarked.
Paxton has championed strict enforcement of Texas election fraud laws, including actions against voters his office accused of falsifying residency records. In 2018, the attorney general’s voter fraud unit arrested nine individuals suspected of using addresses they did not reside at to vote in a municipal election in Edinburg, located in the Rio Grande Valley. However, county prosecutors, representing Paxton’s office, later dropped the charges after failing to secure a conviction against the mayoral candidate alleged to have encouraged the fraudulent registrations. The candidate, Richard Molina, maintains his innocence and claims the prosecution was politically motivated.
Clark Birdsall, who defended another resident prosecuted by Paxton for illegal voting, expressed astonishment that the attorney general appears to have voted from an address where he does not reside.
He described the situation as “especially egregious that someone of Ken Paxton’s stature appears not to be complying with the law.”
State privacy regulations allow certain politicians and law enforcement officials to keep their voter registration details confidential. However, Paxton does not take advantage of this provision. His opponent in the Senate race, Democratic State Representative James Talarico, does. Talarico’s campaign asserts he resides and is registered at his north Austin home purchased in 2022, although ProPublica and the Tribune could not independently verify this claim.
While Paxton’s campaign did not raise concerns regarding Talarico’s voter registration, Cercy noted that “Talarico has actively campaigned against voter security measures” and opposes voter identification requirements. She cited a 2021 Fox News interview in which Talarico expressed his opposition to voter ID rules mandating Texans to provide their driver’s license number or partial Social Security number for mail-in ballots. Talarico argued that many Texans who do not drive lack a driver’s license. He did not directly respond to a question regarding Social Security numbers during the interview.
The Talarico campaign has not commented on recent inquiries.
While Paxton’s living arrangements following his separation from his wife remain somewhat obscure, information gathered by ProPublica and the Tribune sheds some light on his possible residence since February.
In mid-February, a trust acquired a 5,000-square-foot home valued at $2.4 million in a gated community in Denton County, as per the appraisal district and the seller’s real estate agent. The trust’s ownership was not disclosed to Denton County officials, a practice not mandated by law, according to a spokesperson for Travis County’s appraisal district.
Paxton shares a separate blind trust with his wife, Angela, which they have utilized to purchase properties and other assets. The address listed for that blind trust had previously been an office building in Collin County, but it was updated to reflect the Denton County home a week after the property acquisition.
Angela Paxton, through a spokesperson, asserted that she has no association with the Denton County home or the trust that purchased it. The trustee of the Paxtons’ trust, family friend Chip Loper, did not respond to inquiries regarding the address change.
In June, a reporter visited the Denton County home but received no answer at the door. When a letter for Paxton was placed in the mailbox, an envelope addressed to Warren Paxton, the attorney general’s birth name, was visible.
Later that week, Paxton appeared on a podcast alongside Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. Video footage from the podcast depicted Paxton seated in front of a fireplace and mantle strikingly similar to those shown in the home’s online real estate listing. Additionally, a resident informed the newsrooms that they had spotted Paxton within the gated community.
Separately, the Daily Mail reported in May that Paxton had relocated to the Denton County home with Tracy Duhon, whose extramarital relationship with Paxton reportedly triggered his wife’s divorce filing. The Daily Mail also released a video featuring Paxton and Duhon, allegedly taken at an airport in Iceland in late June. This video was
