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Texas AG Fights Congressional Request For Info On Bungled Citizen Voter List

AUSTIN (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — Texas' attorney general is challenging efforts by Democrats in Congress to obtain documents related to the state's bungled search for voters who aren't U.S. citizens.

Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office Thursday released a statement saying that a House oversight committee "appears to be inserting itself" into the state's efforts to prosecute non-citizen voters.

Texas' botched search for illegal voters began when the state released a list that claimed nearly 100,000 people in the state had been identified as non-citizens who were currently registered to vote. But the list wasn't vetted and included scores of naturalized citizens.

The U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee asked for the documents last month. Paxton's office says it has treated the demand as a typical public information request and argues the records are exempt from disclosure.

Texas, in recent years, has aggressively prosecuted voter fraud cases and has one of the nation's toughest voter ID laws.

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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