Collin County Democrats file election complaint against Attorney General Ken Paxton

By R.J. Morales | TX3DNews

COLLIN COUNTY, Texas — The attorney general who has made election integrity a central focus of his time in office is now facing an election complaint from Democrats in his own county.

The Collin County Democratic Party has asked the Texas Secretary of State — and the county’s district attorney and elections offices — to investigate whether Attorney General Ken Paxton broke election law by voting from a McKinney home the party says he left in 2024. Party leaders told TX3DNews it’s about equal enforcement: holding the state’s top law enforcement officer to the rules his own office publishes.

“If the Texas Attorney General is serious about preventing election fraud and making sure that everyone follows the rules his office laid out, he should lead by example and register to vote using an address where he actually lives—not a house that he left in 2024,” said Vice Chair Mary Higbe, who filed the complaint.

What the complaint alleges

The complaint, provided to TX3DNews, alleges Paxton continued voting from his registered address at 5613 S. Woodcreek Circle in McKinney after leaving in 2024. It cites State Sen. Angela Paxton’s 2025 divorce filing, which says her estranged husband moved out about a year earlier, and points to his early vote on May 22, 2026, in the May 26 Republican runoff in Collin County Precinct 149.

The complaint follows reporting by The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, which found Paxton voted in six elections over two years while registered at the McKinney address, even as his living arrangements appeared tied to a home in neighboring Denton County.

The filing also cites Paxton’s own words, quoting his February announcement: “You must register to vote using the address where you reside.”

“For someone who’s made a stand against voter fraud, it’s unconscionable—though not surprising—that Paxton engages in this behavior,” Higbe wrote in the complaint. “No one should be above the law.”

“My personal belief doesn’t matter here”

Higbe told TX3DNews she separates her personal view from what she wants the state to determine.

“I personally believe that the evidence establishes that a violation occurred, but my personal belief doesn’t matter here,” she said. “We would like to see a full investigation occur and, if it’s deemed that no violation occurred, we’d like a full explanation as to how that conclusion was reached.”

She said the Secretary of State assigned the complaint tracking number 26-238 and that, as of Thursday, she had not heard back from the county elections office or district attorney.

Asked whether the complaint’s timing was political because of Paxton’s U.S. Senate campaign, Higbe disagreed.

“Whether or not he is running for Senate is irrelevant,” she said. “As the state’s ‘top cop’ he’s not above the law.”

She also pointed to a September 2025 statement from Paxton’s office that “election fraud is real and a serious threat.”

“If that’s true,” Higbe said, “he should have taken every step necessary to ensure that he was within the parameters of the law.”

“The hypocrisy must be documented”

Party Chair Jeremy Sutka said the complaint is a test of whether the law applies equally to everyone.

“Paxton has built his entire political career on prosecuting Texans for voter fraud—often for minor technical violations,” Sutka said. “He has championed aggressive enforcement, threatened voters with felony charges, and used the full power of his office to go after ordinary citizens. Yet when the same standards are applied to him, he appears to have been voting from an address where he no longer lived.”

“The party filed not because we expect the system they control to hold them accountable,” he said, “but because the hypocrisy must be documented and the public must see it.”

“Texans deserve leaders who believe the law applies to everyone,” Sutka said, “not just those without power and influence.”

Paxton’s response and the legal question

Paxton’s campaign rejected the allegations. Spokesperson Madison Cercy said Paxton “is a lawful, registered Texas voter in full compliance with the law,” calling the complaint “just another partisan hit piece attempting to smear a Republican nominee.” The campaign previously dismissed the underlying reporting as “a baseless, lie-filled tabloid story.”

Neither the campaign nor the Attorney General’s Office has explained why Paxton remained registered in McKinney or where he lived while casting the votes in question.

The legal question may be more complicated than simply where Paxton lived. Under Texas law, a voter’s residence, or domicile, can differ from where they temporarily stay, depending on factors such as intent and whether a new permanent residence has been established. Whether those facts amount to an election-law violation is ultimately for state officials to decide.

What happens next

If the Secretary of State finds reasonable cause to suspect criminal conduct, the complaint may be referred to the Office of the Attorney General — potentially sending it to Paxton’s own agency.

The complaint remains an allegation by the Collin County Democratic Party. No state agency has concluded that Attorney General Ken Paxton violated Texas law.

TX3DNews has requested additional comment from the Office of Attorney General Ken Paxton and will update this story if a response is received.