Texas Senate once again tries to give the attorney general authority to prosecute election crimes

The Texas Senate voted 17-12 Wednesday to preliminarily approve a bill that would allow the attorney general to independently prosecute election crimes without waiting to be invited by a local district attorney, a longstanding priority for the office’s GOP incumbent, Ken Paxton.

A similar proposal stalled out just before the finish line during the regular session, with the House and Senate unable to agree on how quickly the attorney general should be allowed to take the case from local authorities.

This time around, both chambers are starting from the same spot on that issue, directing the attorney general to immediately step in and take over election fraud cases.