Houston, Texas: Felons Arrested for Voting Illegally in Harris County, Attorney General Says

The Texas Attorney General's Office says it has arrested convicted felons in the Houston area who are accused of voting illegally in the midterm election.

Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the arrests over the weekend. "Today, my office arrested convicted felons for voting illegally in Texas. My Election Integrity Unit is actively investigating additional reports of election crimes," Paxton said. "We will continue working to protect the lawful votes of Texans."

How the case started

According to the Attorney General's Office, a citizen reported on October 27 that people who were incarcerated, on parole, or on probation had allegedly cast ballots in Harris County, and supplied open source information to support the report. FOX 26 Houston reported the same account of the tip.

The office's Election Integrity Unit then verified the identities of the people named, reviewed their voter registration records, and checked whether they had voted in the 2026 election. Investigators referred the cases to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which confirmed that multiple people were on parole when they voted, making them ineligible under Texas law.

Arrest warrants were issued on Friday, October 30, in Montgomery County for the people identified so far in the investigation, and officers with the Attorney General's Office arrested them, FOX 26 reported.

What the office has not said

The Attorney General's Office has not revealed the identities of those arrested, has not said how many people were arrested, and has not listed the specific charges in its announcement. Those arrested are accused of a crime, not convicted of one, and the investigation is described as continuing, with the Election Integrity Unit examining additional reports of election crimes.

The law behind the arrests

Under Article 6, Section 1(a)(3) of the Texas Constitution, people convicted of felonies are barred from voting, subject to exceptions the legislature may make. Texas law allows a person convicted of a felony to vote again after the sentence has been fully discharged, which includes incarceration, parole, community supervision and probation, or after a pardon or release from the disability to vote. Texas Election Code Section 11.002 sets the same test for who counts as a qualified voter.

The arrests came at the end of early voting in Texas and one day before Election Day on Tuesday, November 3. Harris County recorded more than one million early voters in the state total of 7.7 million, according to Secretary of State figures reported by The Center Square.