Federal Court Suit Alleges Violations of the First and Fourth Amendments and Unlawful Voter Intimidation

Contact: Seeker Strategies, 956-459-8498, press@seekerstrategies.com

AUSTIN, TX – On September 13, Jolt Initiative sued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in federal court to stop his baseless demand for the organization’s records related to its voter registration and civic engagement efforts. The filing comes amid an onslaught of investigations into civil rights and civic engagement nonprofits throughout the state. [Texas Tribune, September 13, 2024]

Attorney General Paxton served Jolt with a “request to examine” letter that demanded that Jolt Initiative provide documents containing confidential information, including the identities of its volunteer deputy registrars and the private citizens they have registered to vote. Providing this information would expose Jolt staff, volunteers, and private citizens to intimidation and threats, and would chill the organization’s exercise of fundamental freedoms of expression. While Paxton does not have criminal prosecutorial authority, his letter threatened Jolt with the termination of its registration and ability to carry out its work in Texas if Jolt does not hand over the sensitive documents by September 19, 2024. 

“Tyranny thrives in silence. That is why the freedom of speech and association guaranteed by our United States Constitution is so critical to our democracy. That is why the protections afforded by the Voting Rights Act against intimidation tactics are still necessary today. Here in the United States and in the great State of Texas, we have the right to speak out, organize, and mobilize for change,” said Mimi Marziani of Marziani, Stevens & Gonzalez PLLC. “Jolt will not be silenced. Attorney General Ken Paxton’s latest attack on Jolt is part of his larger efforts to bully Latino civic engagement organizations. Prompted by wild conspiracy theories from extremist activists on social media, AG Paxton launched a sham investigation into Jolt. But his unauthorized demand for confidential information, including the names of Jolt’s volunteers and voters, is unconstitutional and unlawful, and we are confident the federal courts will agree.” 

“Jolt works every day to increase the civic participation of young Latinos in Texas to build a stronger democracy that works for all of us. To do that, we call upon our staff and enlist trained community members to conduct nonpartisan voter registration in accordance with state law,” said Diana Maldonado, Executive Director at Jolt Initiative. “There is always a rush of new voters as the registration deadline approaches and interest in elections grows. This investigation is nothing more than a scare tactic meant to impede our voter registration efforts, subject our volunteers and voters we’ve registered to unnecessary scrutiny and harassment, and isolate Jolt from our partners and the community we serve. Jolt remains committed to its mission to support the Latino community and encourage communities to get out and vote in record numbers.”

“Jolt is the latest target of Attorney General Ken Paxton’s campaign to undermine and silence Latino civil rights organizations in Texas,” said Mary McCord, Executive Director of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center. “The intrusive and baseless document demand violates Jolt’s Fourth Amendment rights, infringes its First Amendment right to freedom of association, retaliates against Jolt for protected expression, and violates the Voting Rights Act’s prohibition on voter intimidation.  We look forward to vindicating the rights of Jolt and its employees, volunteers, and the voters they register.”

Click here to read the court filings in Jolt Initiative v. Ken Paxton 

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Jolt initiative is a 501c3 non-profit organization that increases the civic participation of Latinos to build a stronger democracy and ensure that everyone’s voice is heard.